Spotted Lanternfly Identification and Control

Paul J Kurtz Entomologist New Jersey Department of Agriculture Distribution

• The Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) is a from Asia, specifically found in China, India,

• First found in Berks County, during the Fall 2014, at a stone importer prompting the immediate quarantine of Pike and District townships.

• The initial introduction is believed to have been in 2012.

• As of 2020 there are 8 counties under quarantine in NJPA for SLF.

• Currently in 6 states and detected in another 3. Distribution: US Centered Map

The USA is at the same latitudinal area as China and Japan, meaning same general climates and habitat patterns. Lifecycle

Egg Laying: Adults: July 24-December September - November Eggs: Late September-June

One Generation Per Year

Fourth Instar: Hatch and 1st Instar: July - September Late April- June

Third Instar: June - Mid-July Second Instar: May - June Adults . Approx. 1 inch in length.

. The forewing is gray with black spots of varying sizes and the wing tips have black spots outlined in gray.

. Hind wings have contrasting patches of red and black with a white band.

. The legs and head are black, and the abdomen is yellow with black bands. Adults . While a poor flyer, the Spotted Lanternfly is a strong jumper. . Adults can be seen as early as July. . In the fall, adults switch hosts to focus on Tree of Heaven ( altissima). . Egg laying begins in September and continues up through the onset of winter, until a hard killing frost. . Adults often cluster in groups to feed, mate and lay eggs. Egg Masses

. Egg masses contain 30-50 eggs in 4-7 vertical rows.

. Females can lay up to 3 eggs masses.

. An egg mass is approx. 1 inch in size.

. Eggs hatch intermittently to increase survival of the nymphs.

. In time, waxy deposit disappears on old egg masses which look like brown seeds. Egg Masses

. Freshly laid egg masses have a grey waxy mud-like coating . Choosing plants with toxic metabolites for egg laying is thought to be a mechanism of defense to protect from natural enemies. . Eggs are laid on flat surfaces including tree bark, rocks, lawn furniture, RV’s and pallets. Which can be transported to new locations Lifecycle: Nymphs

. There are four nymphal instars.

. 1st instar - April to June . 2nd & 3th - June to July . 4th instar - July to Sept

. The first 3 instars are black with white spots and wingless.

. The fourth instar has red wing pads and upper body.

. Nymphs spread from the initial site by crawling and feeding on woody and non- woody plants. Nymphs

. Nymphs have a much wider host range compared to the adults.

. They “hop” to avoid prey or capture.

. Like the adults prefer to feed in groups.

. Feed on the phloem with sucking mouthparts.

. Stores bitter chemicals from TOH feeding in its body to make it unpalatable to predators during the 4th instar. Hosts

. Spotted lanternfly feeds on a variety of host plants including fruit trees, ornamental trees, woody trees, vegetables, herbs, grains and vines. . Apples, , cherry, blueberry, cucumber, dogwood, grapes, hops, lilac, , poplar, stone fruits, and tree-of-heaven are among more than 70 species of hosts attacked by this . Host Trees . American beech (Fagus . Apple ( spp.) grandifolia) . Plum, cherry, peach, . American linden (Tilia americana) apricot (Prunus spp.) . American sycamore (Platanus . Maple (Acer spp.) occidentalis) . White ash (Fraxinus . Big-toothed aspen (Populus americana) grandidentata) . Hickory (Carya spp.) . Black gum (Nyssa sylvatica) . Pine (Pinus spp.) . Japanese snowbell (Styrax . Black walnut (Juglans japonicus) nigra) . Paper birch (Betula papyrifera) . Oak (Quercus spp.) . Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) . Willow (Salix spp.). . Serviceberry (Amelanchier . Black birch (Betula lenta) canadensis) . Dogwood (Cornus spp.) . Slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) . Tulip poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Hosts . Tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissma, is an well established

invasive tree and is Tree of Heaven Distribution-USDA PLANTS Database from the same region and favorite host to SLF. It is one of the elements that is allowing SLF to expand it range. Damage

Adults and nymphs feed on phloem tissues of foliage and young stems with their piercing and sucking mouthparts and excrete large quantities of liquid (honeydew).

Feeding can stunt plant growth. Damage

. Feeding can create bark splits in the tree.

. Trees can be afflicted with weeping wounds of sap on the trunks.

. Trees attacked by the Spotted Lanternfly will show a grey or black trail of sap down the trunk. Damage

Insect can be potentially toxic to domestic like horses because of Cantharidin and toxic metabolites from Tree of Heaven.

Adult SLF feed on alfalfa which is harvested with adults in the bales and then feed to livestock.

Chemical analysis is being studied in PA and cantharidin toxicity is cited in Chinese literature but needs to fully translated. How Does Quarantine Impact NJ?

. Limited movement of articles from inside the quarantine to outside the quarantine. . This includes ANY means of conveyance! NJ Permits . The movement of ANY regulated materials and goods in and out of the NJ and PA quarantine REQUIRES a permit. . Obtain a permit: . https://www.agriculture.pa.go v/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIn dustry/Entomology/spotted_la nternfly/quarantine/Pages/def ault.aspx NJ Permits REGULATED ARTICLES

General Public: . Complete a compliance checklist, which indicates you inspected and know that no living life stage of SLF is present on the articles.

Businesses, Municipalities, Govt. Agencies . Exclusively within the quarantine. . Inspect regulated articles and vehicles for any life stage of SLF. . If found, material has to be treated, burned or buried, in accordance with all federal, state and local laws. Movement is the Key

All life stages can HITCHHIKE to new areas.

Photos: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture What is Being Done? . Survey . Visual Survey is being conducted along perimeter of existing finds to delimit the population. . Detection and treatment surveys.

. Tree Banding to reduce populations and for detection survey.

. Treatment . Continued suppression of populations within the core to reduce the potential for human-assisted movement . Ailanthus trap tree/host insecticide or herbicide treatment/removal method from the perimeter to the core to contain and suppress the population and reduce the risk of movement outside of the quarantine area.

. Outreach . Education to citizens and businesses through presentations. . Social media (Facebook) and media campaign . Production of literature, videos, and scraper cards

. Research on traps, lures, biocontrol agents, treatment methods, pathway modeling, host management, eDNA (Rutgers) Tree Banding . Using sticky traps at 3-4ft from the base of the tree also appears to be a good management and early detection strategy.

. Nymphs travel up and down the trees each day. Control . Hand destroy all adults possible and crush egg masses that can be found

. Neonicotinoids, , and organophosphates are among the chemical insecticides effective against spotted lanternfly. These chemicals also will also eliminate Beneficial as well.

. To hold SLF to current population 93% of the population needs to eliminated. Bio-Control

. Parasitoid wasp are being study as a means of a control on SLF populations. But more time is needed for labwork. . One of the difficulty in biocontrol is rearing SLF in the lab. Need to break diapause. Who has to worry? . Fruit growers . Grape and wine producers . Small grains, alfalfa, hops growers . Vegetable growers . Nursery growers . Xmas tree growers . Homeowners . Livestock owners . Woodlot owners . Firewood businesses . EVERYONE!!

Questions? Email: [email protected]