Big and bright, an adult spotted lanternfly is an insect that will grab most New Englanders鈥� attention.
This exotic planthopper can grow to be 1 inch long and one-half inch wide. When sitting, a spotted lanternfly appears 鈥渄usky brown with black spots, but when it flies, you鈥檒l see brown wings, red under wings and black and yellow bodies,鈥� said Victoria Smith, 海角换妻鈥檚 state entomologist. 鈥淚t's quite a pretty insect.鈥�
It鈥檚 also a potentially devastating invasive pest, spawning 鈥渟quish it鈥� campaigns from officials across several states looking to slow the insect鈥檚 spread and limit its harm to agricultural crops.
Since spotted lanternflies were first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, it has become established in 17 states as far north as New York and as far south as North Carolina.
In 海角换妻, the first spotted lanternfly was detected in 2018. Since then, the insect native to Asia, has spread to all eight counties.
There has been a lot of panic over this insect, Smith said, because spotted lanternflies are known to feed on crops.
But in 海角换妻 so far, the damage seems limited. 鈥淲e have not had any reports of crop damage,鈥� she said, noting 鈥渧ery minimal damage to fleshy vegetables such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers.鈥�
Still, Smith said one crop could be a target: grapes. "These things will kill an unmanaged vineyard in two to three years," she said.
Grapes are attractive to spotted lanternflies because the insects feed on plant sap using a piercing-sucking mouthpart. According to the 海角换妻 Agricultural Experiment Station, .
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have to treat your vineyards with pesticides,鈥� Smith said. She also said the invasive plant, , should be cleared out because it is one of the bug鈥檚 favorite host plants.
Spotted lanternflies will die out after the first hard freeze of the year, but one insect can lay dozens of eggs in the fall, which can survive winter and be ready to hatch next spring.
