This is the spotted lantern fly. Don’t be fooled by its pretty looks, as this invasive insect would devastate our fruit trees in New Hampshire and more. It could be really bad and they just found one in Vermont.
“Remove and destroy”
This is a strong mandate from the USDA that recommends crushing any nymph or adult insects you come in contact with.
The best way to remove any egg mass is to scrape it off and seal it in a Ziploc-style plastic bag with a small amount of an alcohol-based solution like a hand sanitizer. Anything with isopropyl alcohol works fine.
Spotted lantern flies were first spotted in southeast Pennsylvania in 2014 and have caused great damage to orchards, vineyards and hop growers.
They have been found in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.
According to this Boston.com article, one was just discovered on a box from a van in Rutland, Vermont, on August 19.
Fortunately, the insect found in Vermont appears to be an isolated stowaway as the Department of Agriculture has trapped acres in the area and has not seen any lantern fly activity.
The reason this is a big problem is because this insect lacks natural predators in this region of the world, it is native to the Eastern Hemisphere.
Believe it or not, chickens have been identified as possible predators, as has the praying mantis.
From what I’ve seen these pests wreak havoc on trees in Pennsylvania, I don’t think there are enough chickens in the world to brave this devastating storm.
Unlike the Murder Hornets who fight us face to face, these things are after our beer and wine harvests. They must be stopped at all costs!
