Mercer County has become a Spotted lanternfly “quarantine zone” by The New Jersey Department of Agriculture which has initiated a campaign called “Stomp it out!” encouraging residents to step on and kill the insects whenever they see them.
Spotted lanternflies (SLF) are invasive planthoppers that can fly and jump. In its adult form the SLF has brown speckled longer wings and inner wings that are red and is about two inches long. The lanternflies, which are indigenous to China, India, Vietnam, and Taiwan, do not have natural predators in the U.S.
The NJDA website explains that “the insect excretes honeydew (a sugary substance) which can attract bees, wasps, and other insects. The honeydew also builds up and promotes the growth for sooty mold (fungi), which can cover the plant, forest understories, patio furniture, cars, and anything else found below SLF feeding.”
Professor Amy Ricco, the Program Coordinator for Horticulture, Plant Science, and Sustainability at Mercer County Community College explains that, “The spotted lanternfly is believed to have entered the US initially in Berks County, PA as egg masses on landscape stone from Asia in 2012. It wasn’t until 2014 that they noticed it, and it consequently spread through Pennsylvania. They tracked the Pennsylvania spread between 2014 and 2017. By 2018, it was in NJ with Warren, Hunterdon, and Mercer Counties being the first 3 counties with an infestation.”
Jeff Wolfe, the Public Information Officer for the NJDA stated “The spotted lanternfly does have the ability to feed on 70 different types of trees and vegetation. This is why it is important to work to reduce its population now as much as possible.”
Professor Ricco said that “maple trees, fruit trees, and grapes,” are among some of the SLF’s targets.
When the lanternflies feed on plants during their development they can kill young trees and put stress on them causing a lack of fruit production and less of the ability to fight off other insects, diseases, and cold conditions.
Meredith Melendez, an agricultural agent, and professor at Rutgers University said a major concern is that, “When a new insect pest is introduced into an environment there is little natural control. Researchers are still learning about the SLF and investigating ways to control it. During this period of investigation, we can only do our best to control the SLF population with the information that we have.”
Dr. Jessica Ware, an Invertebrate Zoologist at the American Museum of Natural History says we can expect an increase in the spotted lanternfly population during the next summer and for them to continue spreading in new states as well.
Researchers and the NJDA are still trying to figure out what effects this infestation will have on the Mercer County ecosystem long-term and short-term and what the best ways are to mitigate them other than calling on residents to kill them.
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For more information on the SLF lifecycle and how to handle them click here.
