Spotted Lanternfly

spotted lanternfly
Lycorma delicatula
Last updated by:

Leigh Greenwood and Faith Campbell, August 2021

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) was first detected in the United States in Berks County, Pennsylvania in September 2014 (PA DoA 2015). The insect had been present for two years (Spichiger 2015).  By January 2018, the Pennsylvania quarantine included portions of 13 counties in the southeastern part of the state (PA DoA 2017). Throughout 2018, 2019, and 2020 new detections of spotted lanternfly individuals, and breeding populations, have been found across the Mid-Atlantic states.

For the most up to date geographic information, please visit the regional map from New York State Integrated Pest Management, Spotted Lanternfly Reported Distribution Map | CALS (cornell.edu). This map is updated approximately once a month and shows both the individual finds, and known infestation areas, for the affected region. As of August 2021, there are 9 states with one or more known infestations (CT, DE, IN, MD, NY, OH, PA, VA, and WV). A full map of establishment risk areas (susceptible habitats) for the USA and global distribution was published in 2019 (Wakie et al 2019).

Adult spotted lanternfly. Photo credit: Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org

In response to the rapid growth of the infested area, on 7 February 2018 the USDA announced that it had allocated $17.5 million in emergency funds to stop the spread of spotted lanternfly. The funds are from the Commodity Credit Corporation – a transfer authorized by 7 U.S.C. 7772 (Title 7: Agriculture, Chapter 104: Plant Protection, Subchapter IV: Authorization of Appropriations).  The new funds allowed APHIS to expand its efforts to manage the outer perimeter of the infestation while the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will focus on a 3-mile perimeter surrounding the core infested area. The goal of this expanded surveillance and control program is to stop the leading edge of the infestation and start pushing it inward while at the same time reducing the density of spotted lanternfly populations in the core-infested area. APHIS used existing resources to conduct surveys, and control measures if necessary, in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia (USDA Press Release No. 0031.18).

Upon discovering the insect in 2014, Pennsylvania began an intensive survey to delimit the outbreak and instituted a quarantine to prevent spread of the insect. The quarantine applied to movement of all known or suspected vectors, including brush, debris, bark, or yard waste; logs, stumps, or any tree parts; firewood of any species; grapevines; nursery stock; and crates; landscaping, remodeling or construction waste; and such outdoor household articles as recreational vehicles, lawn tractors and mowers, mower decks, grills, grill and furniture covers, tarps, mobile homes, tile, stone, deck boards, mobile fire pits, any associated equipment and trucks or vehicles not stored indoors (PA DoA 2015).

The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper from Asia, found in countries ranging from China, Korea, and Vietnam to India. It has been introduced to Korea (in 2004), and possibly other countries. In Korea, the lanternfly utilizes 67 plant species, including many important agricultural crops, such as wild and cultivated grapes, stone fruits (plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds), apples, willow, and various hardwoods, and even pines [Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture alert; APHIS alert]. A new worldwide feeding host plant list was published in October 2020 to include a comprehensive look at North American plant taxa (Barringer 2020). The hosts identified in Barringer are primarily hardwoods, including; ash, American basswood, American beech, birches, American sycamore, black cherry, black walnut and butternut, blackgum, dogwoods, hickories, maples and boxelder, oaks (chestnut and northern red oak), sassafras, slippery elm, tulip poplar, and willow. However, the list also includes one conifer- eastern white pine.

The plants are damaged by both the loss of sap from stems and leaves – which reduces photosynthesis; and deposition of large amounts of fluid (honeydew) – which promotes mold growth [APHIS alert].

Lanternflies lay egg masses on smooth bark, including on willow, maple, poplar, sycamore, and such fruit trees as plum, cherry, and peach. [APHIS alert] Lanternflies also lay eggs on brick, stone, and other vertical surfaces. Possible egg sites include vehicles, campers, yard furniture, farm equipment or other items stored outside, or even masonry walls (PA DoA 2015).

Many SLF egg casings on tree trunk. Photo by L. Downs, The Nature Conservancy

Nymphs develop through four immature stages. During this development, they spread from the hatching site by crawling (PA DoA 2015). The first three instars have been found on 30 species in Pennsylvania, including oak, birch, blackgum, and poison ivy. Third instars seek tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) – an introduced and invasive tree that is widespread in the Mid-Atlantic region (as well as elsewhere in North America). Immature instars crawl up the trunk early in the day, then back down in the afternoon or evening, so sticky bands can effectively trap the insect (Spichiger 2015). Fourth instar nymphs are very active (unlike adults or earlier instars); they hop and fly several feet (Rhodes 2015). Adults appear as early as July (see photo). Adults are poor flyers, but strong jumpers (PA DoA 2015).

A group of 4th stage instar nymphs. Photo by L. Downs, The Nature Conservancy

In the fall, adults seek tree of heaven (Ailanthus) as the preferred site for egg laying. However, as noted above, lanternflies will use a wide range of smooth vertical surfaces (PA DoA 2015).

Infested trees can have weeping wounds of sap on the trunks. As insect populations rise, honey dew secretions build up at the base of the tree, blackening the soil around the base. The largest colonies can produce large fungal mats at the base of tree. Wasps, hornets, bees, and ants attracted to the honeydew secretions can become conspicuous (PA DoA 2015).

Pennsylvania also asked the public to help by scraping egg masses off trees or other surfaces and collecting or photographing specimens for the survey effort (PA DoA 2015). Total number of eggs recorded as scraped and killed as of 1/10/2018 was 1,689,660 (PA DoA 2018). They have also trapped over one million nymphs on tree bands (PA DoA 2018).

For more information, visit:

SOURCES

Barringer and Ciafré 2020, Worldwide Feeding Host Plants of Spotted Lanternfly, With Significant Additions From North America. Environmental Entomology, Volume 49, Issue 5, October 2020, Pages 999–1011

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. November 2017. Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Map. If this link is broken, refer here instead.

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Spotted Lanternfly website Accessed August 13 2015 and January 30 2018.

Potter, K.M., Escanferla, M.E., Jetton, R.M., Man, G., Crane, B.S., Prioritizing the conservation needs of US tree spp: Evaluating vulnerability to forest insect and disease threats, Global Ecology and Conservation (2019), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/

Rhodes, D. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, National Plant Board, August 2015.

Spichiger, S-E. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, 26th USDA Interagency Research Forum on Invasive Species, January 2015.

USDA Press Release No. 0031.18   https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2018/02/07/perdue-announces-emergency-funding-spotted-lanternfly-pennsylvania

Wakie T, Neven L, Yee W, Lu Z, The Establishment Risk of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in the United States and Globally, Journal of Economic Entomology, Volume 113, Issue 1, February 2020, Pages 306–314, https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toz259 and covered in Entomology Today