By Elle Wood

DOVER – The spotted lanternfly were found in the United States around 10 years ago in Pennsylvania.

Since then, they have made their way to Delaware having impacts on some of Delaware’s produce crops.

They are an invasive species from China and Vietnam.

“I think the consensus is that they came over as eggs that we laid on a landscaping stone that was imported from China,” said Stephen Hauss, an environmental scientist in the plant industries section of the Delaware Department of Agriculture. “There were some egg masses attached to there because the first adult insects were found pretty close to this landscaping supply company that imported these.”

Their main concern is with the vineyards, however it can also be destructive to the apple and peach orchards.

“They have not been known to kill any trees, but they have been known to feed enough that they can kill grape vines,” said Mr. Hauss.

The insect has a one-year life span. They hatch around April or May, then by June or July they are full size and from September until the first frost in December, the adults lay starting the cycle again when they hatch in April.

A full-size spotted lantern fly has spotted wings and red on the underneath. They are about the size of a thumb.

The trends of the lanternfly just depend on the area, but they have had a rapid increase in southern Delaware more than they have seen before.

“Definitely in southern Delaware around the beaches, we are seeing quite a bit more than we have in the past,” said Mr. Hauss. “In other places in Delaware, where we have been finding in northern New Castle County where we have been finding them through 2018.

“In other places we haven’t seen as many as we had in the past.”

The spread of the insect is helped by the way humans move around. The vehicles and technology that is used enhances the speed in which the lanternflies can get around.

“One of the major ways the spotted lanternfly spreads is that they will lay eggs, or the adult might get on some object that is transported a long distance, so humans help with their movement and spread,” said Mr. Hauss. “So our main goal is that we are doing a treatment program to kind of reduce the population on properties that have this risk of human assisted transport.

“So we do a lot of work near railway yards and other business that may have a lot of trucks and vehicles going in and out.”

As they become more widespread, the Department of Agriculture wants people to know how they can treat spotted lanternflies if they have them on their properties.

“We really want the public to get involved in treating the spotted lanternfly on their own property when the population is large enough to be a concern for them,” said Mr. Hauss.

For the most part, if someone spots one or a few on their property, it may not be a huge concern.

“The first thing to know is that we do not want people to overreact,” said Mr. Hauss. “If you see a few on your property it may not be that big of a deal.

“But if you are seeing them on trees or some smaller plants and you are worried about them, there are a lot of options.”

To treat them on a property, some tree care companies and landscapers may be able to help remove them. If that does work, commercial traps or pesticides can be used to eliminate the spotted lanternfly from their property.

For more information visit www.agriculture.delaware.gov/plant-industries/spotted-lanternfly/.