Coming to an orchard near you, The Spotted Lanternfly

General Fruit Growing
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For the last year or so have been reading about the spotted lanternflies infesting several counties to the south of me here in eastern PA. Saw my first one today at work, about 15 miles from my orchard. They are spreading fast and it seems unlikely they will be able to contain them. Several co-workers tell me they are seeing them by the hundreds at their homes right now!
One more pest to worry about :confused:

Crappy picture of the one I saw at work…

Spotted Lanternfly
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Boo! Thumbs down!

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Not another bug!

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lovely!! :frowning:

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Uggggh. PA Figs is constantly battling them on his youtube channel. They seem like a real pain.

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Yeah, they’re here to stay. They are a rather pretty bug, thought. Rumor has the starlings are eating them.

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I was at his house the other week, he has quite the infestation!

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we haven’t got SWD up here so maybe it will be too cold for this bug. -35f tends to weed out the weak! :wink:

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Found this picture in the local newspaper, this is supposedly a pretty common site in the counties to the south of me right now.

mcspottedlanternfly
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Yuck. That makes my skin crawl.

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Update article:https://www.bayjournal.com/article/invasive_spotted_lanternfly_threatens_chesapeakes_crops_hardwoods?utm_source=Bay+Journal+Weekly+News&utm_campaign=77bb2f947f-Newsltr_2018_Jan22&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bde9036159-77bb2f947f-107287173

Host plant Ailanthus is key to reproduction, article says. Md is next, looks like.

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Do we ever get any good bugs coming out of those countries?

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usually any non native bug is bad news! their natural predators are non existent! just like the wooly adelgid and emerald ash borer! those 2 have been very destructive to our native hemlock and ash trees!

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That’s their favorite, but I’ve been seeing them on lots of trees. Just cut down a maple with eggs on it.

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NYS is littered with Tree of Heaven, this gets me nervous, looking out my window I see three within 250ft of my property…
sigh

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Baltimore Sun article four days ago: “Maryland Braces for Invasion of Lantern Fly”:

I wonder if covering trees in Surround clay would work against them. Man this sounds bad.

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Thanks for the warning Hambone. It is only a matter of time before they move north.

I remember the invasion of Scalett Lily leaf beetles here several years ago. They wiped out lilies in many places including at Tower Hill Botanical Garden. It took a few years before we knew how to handle them. They are still around, though.

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I got starlings! Go starlings!

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This one just sounds nasty. They apparently don’t fly well but hitch rides on almost anything. Oy.

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Here is a link to one of the most recent articles that the Penn State Ag Extension has put out on the spotted lanternfly

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-on-grapes-and-tree-fruit