“It was like it was raining lanternflies when you walk outside,” Gavyn Essner told FOX 29 Philadelphia of the sheer number of bugs in his yard.
The spotted lanternfly is not only pervasive and invasive but deadly to plants. The plant-hopping bug pierces plants with their mouth and sucks sugary sap out of the stems, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
“Our yard – this was the worst year so far,” said Essner about the insects. He started noticing lanternflies three to four years ago in his Williamstown, New Jersey yard. “The previous years we have seen them here and there, nothing major, but this is by far the worst. I had to wrap tape around the trees this year.”
The lanternfly is even more destructive to hardwood forests, orchards and vineyards. It deprives plants of sap, causes wilting, dieback and makes plants more susceptible to other diseases and pests.
“Some vineyards have seen a 100% crop loss,” Sharon Powers of Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture told FOX Weather’s Katie Byrne. “They are a threat to our economy as well as our quality of life.”
In addition to sucking sap, the fly that travels in swarms and covers plants also produces honeydew.
“The honeydew that the insects squirt out covers the plants, blocks photosynthesis, so the plant doesn’t get the sunlight it needs,” explained Powers. “And the plant is basically smothered, but it’s also covered with a black, sooty mold that destroys the plant.”
Honeydew is a sugary substance that promotes mold growth. The mold is not harmful to humans but can be a mess when it covers decks, play sets and outdoor furniture.
“Stop, scrape and squash!” says a yard sign the Pennsylvania Ag Department distributes to remind residents to eradicate the bug that is not harmful to humans or pets. READ MORE...
