The Spotted Lantern Fly
The Kill-on-Sight Bug
October 5, 2021
The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species native to China and first found in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014. This specific species is kill-on-sight because of how dangerous the Spotted Lanternfly is to Pennsylvanian trees. Anytime you spot one you must report them to the hotline at 1-888-422-3359. There are a couple ways you can remove them yourself but reporting them is the best course of action.
Spotted Lanternfly, or SLF, is not hard to identify. Their life cycle begins in eggs masses. The egg masses of Spotted Lanternfly often look like gray pieces of gum stuck to a tree. Then the Spotted Lanternfly moves on to the early nymph stage looking like black beetles with white dots. The SLF then moves on to late nymph stages to add spots of red on its back with the white dots. Then it finally moves on to its adult stages, when its adult it closely resembles a cicada, but with grey wings and black spots. When the Spotted Lanternfly opens its wing a portion of the wings are a bright red. The Spotted Lanternfly isn’t very hard to identify at any stage of its life so when you see one you kill and report it.
Now, why is the Spotted Lanternfly kill-on-sight and why do you need to report it? The Spotted Lanternfly is incredibly dangerous to trees as it feeds on them and can cause a plethora of things to happen to the trees. The SLF can cause the tree to ooze sap, wilt the leaves, leaf curling, and dieback. Another thing the Spotted Lanternfly does to trees and other plants is leave behind a sugary substance called honeydew. This honeydew can very often grow black mold, which can cause the plants to get sick. These are all reasons why Spotted Lanternflies are so dangerous. They are also being tracked by many scientists to quarantine them before they hurt too many trees. So it is important to kill-on-sight and report.
It is very important that you report any findings of Spotted Lanternfly to an organization tracking them. The previously mentioned hotline or at the email [email protected].
