CONSERVATION THREATS

The spotted lanternfly is a polyphagous haustellate phloem feeder that eats a broad range of plants (1). The damage caused by their heavy feeding can result in oozing sap, wilting, leaf curling, and tree dieback (3). In counties that are infested with spotted lanternflies, residents report that it affects their ability to enjoy the outdoors during the spring and summer months (2). The pests will cover trees, swarm in massive numbers, and the honeydew they produce causes sooty mold to grow all over parked cars, decks, and play equipment.  

In addition to damaging trees and affecting the quality of life, the spotted lanternfly is a huge threat to the agriculture industry (2). They cause millions of dollars in economic loss and impact hundreds of thousands of jobs for those in the grapes, apple, hops, and hardwood industries. In heavily infested vineyards in North America, the spotted lanternfly has caused up to 90% loss of grape yield due to poor fruit quality and extensive death of vines (1). 

At this point, the spotted lanternfly has not been found on economic crops in Virginia, but there are concerns that it could spread rapidly throughout the state (4). Adult spotted lanternflies' preference for the tree of heaven which is often found along transport corridors will likely hasten their spread. The shipping industry had been seriously impacted by quarantine regulations intended to prevent and mitigate the spread because the insects can lay their eggs on various types of substrates. Due to the abundance of the tree of heaven and suitable habitat conditions, the spotted lanternfly has the potential to become widespread in the United States, see map below. 

1. Kelly Murman, Gregory P Setliff, Cathryn V Pugh, Michael J Toolan, Isaiah Canlas, Stefani Cannon. Distribution, Survival, and Development of Spotted Lanternfly on Host Plants Found in North America, Environmental Entomology, Volume 49, Issue 6, December 2020, Pages 1270–1281, https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvaa126.

2.  Spotted Lanternfly Alert. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. (n.d.).  https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/SpottedLanternflyAlert/Pages/default.aspx.

3.  Spotted Lanternfly. Penn State Extension. (n.d.). https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly.

4.  Spotted Lanternfly in Virginia. Department of Entomology | Virginia Tech. (2021, April12). https://www.ento.vt.edu/4-H_Entomology/SpottedLanternfly.html.