THE ALLEGHENY FRONT – In 2014, the Asian-native invasive lantern fly, an invasive insect, was first seen in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Since then, it has spread westward along the transport corridors across the state. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s lantern fly quarantine zone now extends to 34 counties, including Allegheny, Westmoreland, and Cambria.
Quarantined districts have strict regulations aimed at stopping the invasive pest from spreading westward or even between communities within a county. Companies that move regulated products or vehicles into and out of quarantine areas require approval. Residents should examine some items for each stage of the spotted lantern fly life cycle before moving them, such as: B. Recreational vehicles, lawn furniture and landscaping materials.
Look what
Emelie Swackhamer, a horticultural educator at Penn State Extension in Montgomery County, said female lantern flies would lay their eggs on any solid surface, from trees to picnic tables. The eggs are laid in rows in autumn.
“The egg masses are about an inch long and maybe half an inch wide,” said Swachhamer. “There are an average of around 35 eggs per egg mass.”
The female secretes a substance over the eggs that dries up and looks like mud with a cracked surface. The egg masses overwinter and around the first of May they hatch and begin to mature as nymphs.
Marie Cusick / StateImpact Pennsylvania. A spotted lantern fly nymph.
Set up a trap
At this point, spotted lanterns are prone to a certain type of trap that uses their drive to climb trees and feed on the leaves.
“The trap wraps around the trunk of the tree and has a kind of skirt that is open,” explained Swackhamer. “The lantern flies can climb the trunk and get into the bordered area, which leads them into a funnel structure. They end up in this collection container upstairs and don’t know how to get out again. “
They just wander around the collection bin until they die, she said, and these circular traps can catch thousands of spotted lantern flies that have been used to collect insects with climbing behavior similar to pecan beetles.
You can order a trap online or follow Swackhamer’s step-by-step instructions to make your own circular traps using materials you may have at home, such as insect nets and plastic milk jugs.
Circle traps are a better choice for catching spotted lantern fly nymphs than commonly used tape, Swackheamer said, as these can potentially trap other animals like bees, birds, and squirrels.
Swackhamer said spotted lantern flies prefer another invasive tree of the sky. Black walnut also seems to be a favorite of the nymphs. Maple, willow, or birch are other types that they like.
Swackhamer said circular traps wouldn’t stop spotted lantern flies from getting to your trees, and there’s still no evidence that it will protect the trees from damage. But there is one way to solve the problem.
The insects devastate trees, vines, and crops, and many eastern Pennsylvania residents are fed up with the sticky mess they make when they feed them.
Swackhamer said there are other ways to kill the pests. Egg masses can be scraped into a container with alcohol. They can also be smashed, although the adults will be harder to kill that way because the red and brown winged insects will jump. Low toxicity insecticides are also effective, Swackhamer said, but you need to know what to look for
“The key to all of this is identification and just observation,” said Swackhamer.
