The first live spotted lanternfly was recently found in Staten Island.
Officials in multiple states urge people to be on the lookout for an invasive species that could have a devastating impact on agriculture.
In recent weeks, officials in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey have sounded the alarm about the cheerful lantern fly, which is currently in its prime feeding season and could devastate on crops.
For the first time, live spotted lantern flies were also found on Staten Island, New York, state authorities announced Friday.
The first live finding is “concerning,” said Basil Seggos, the state commissioner of the State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), in a statement, adding that the goal is to “prevent it from continuing in New York.” state and limit all serious threats to our natural resources. ”
The spotted lanternfly feeds on more than 70 plant species, which can make the plants vulnerable to disease and attacks by other insects. A Penn State study released earlier this year found that the invasive species cost the Pennsylvania economy about $ 50 million, including $ 29 million in direct costs to growers and forest landowners.
People can help limit the spread of lanternfly spread by reporting observations to their department of state agriculture or by simply squashing the break.
The inch-long insect is distinguished by the reddish, polka-dotted wings of adult spotted lantern flies, which mate in July and August. Humans should also be on the lookout for insect eggs, which adults begin laying in September. Ice masses are about 1 inch long and look like mud. To kill them, officials recommend using alcohol, bleach as a sanitizer, or double dredging and throwing them away.
Humans can also help prevent the spread of the spotted lantern fly by not accidentally transporting the insect or its eggs. Namely, in Asia, the insect is notorious for hitchhiking and is primarily spread by human activity.
Dozens of counties in multiple states are currently under quarantine due to the insect, including 26 in Pennsylvania, eight in New Jersey, two in Maryland and one in Delaware. Typically, this means that anyone traveling in a quarantine province is asked to inspect their car, luggage, gear, aliens and clothing for the cheerful lanternfly as its eggs before leaving. It may also mean that companies are required to have a permit to move certain items within or out of quarantine zones.
“The ability to travel easily on any mode of transportation has allowed it to spread,” said director Z7, New Jersey’s Department of Agricultural Plant Industry, last week in an update on the state’s actions to destroy the species. . “We urge residents to do their part by eliminating this bug whenever possible.”
The insect prefers the tree-of-the-sky, another invasive species. Since 2018, more than 200,000 trees from the sky have been treated on nearly 19,000 acres in New Jersey, officials said last week. Investments lie mainly along the state border with Pennsylvania, which had the first reported sighting of the cheerful lantern fly in the US. Since first discovered in Berks County in 2014, the insect has been found in more than a third of state states.
So far this year, observations have increased dramatically in Pennsylvania. According to local reports, the State Department of Agriculture received 33,015 reports through July 17, compared to 5,603 for the same period last year: an increase of almost 500%. It is not certain if the rise is due to an increase in the insect’s population or an increase in public awareness, officials said. Reports can also be incorrect.
Given the imminent contamination in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, New York is at high risk for its own, state authorities warned. Individual spotted lantern flies have been detected in more than a dozen counties, but no infestations have been confirmed in New York, according to the state DEC.
Delaware has also been worried about infections this year, as a mild winter saw a high breakout rate of spotted lantern fly nymphs, officials said in late June.
The plague has also been detected in Virginia and West Virginia. Most states are considered risky, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
.
