What You Need To Know About the Spotted Lantern Fly

 If you live in or around Pennsylvania, then I'm sure you've heard of the Spotted Lantern Fly. There's a lot of information going around, some of it better than others, so I want to distill it down for the average person so you know what's going on without getting a degree in Etymology. 

The Spotted Lantern Fly is a relatively new to North America invasive species from China and parts of India. It has no significant predators here and is spreading rapidly. The good news is, it does not bite or sting and, unlike the 17 year cicadas, it's quiet. The bad news is, it loves fruit trees and grape vines and can destroy a lot of crops. It also has a tendency to swarm. Even if you don't grow fruit yourself, if you enjoy wine, apples, cider, peaches, etc, than this should concern you at least a little. 

So what can the average person do about the Spotted Lantern Fly?

First, familiarize yourself with what their egg cases look like by clicking here. Then before the end of March, do a thorough walk around your property to look for them and remove them. They are easily scraped off with a plastic gift card/credit card. Don't just leave them on the ground though! They will still hatch. You can either place them in a bag with some rubbing alcohol, smash them thoroughly, or burn them. Egg cases are the only way this species survives the winter so you only need to do this once each winter. 

The eggs hatch out in Spring and go through 2 very different looking pupa stages before becoming an adult. You can see pictures of them here.

Second, if you live in a county that is quarantined, please don't move any fire wood, rocks or the like, out of the quarantined area. That is how this species has spread so fast. Not sure where the quarantined area is? Click here. 

Third, please don't try to douse them with pesticides. You will inevitably do more harm to beneficial insects than you will effectively get rid of the Lantern Fly. If you feel you must use chemicals, try an organic insecticidal soap which you can find at any Home and Garden store. My plan if I get a swarm of them around my fruit trees is to get a vacuum shredder and suck them up. 

To be clear, the Spotted Lantern Fly is here to stay. Man kind has never obliterated an insect pest without obliterating the environment itself. The best we can do is manage them and keep numbers low. If all you do is check your property for eggs once a winter, then that's great. 

As with all things, there has been a lot of bad information out there about the Lantern Fly. For more reading, I highly recommend sticking with Penn State University publications as they are at the forefront of research on this issue. You can find that information here. 

Thanks for doing your part!