Jessica Ware, an assistant curator in invertebrate zoology at the American Museum of Natural History. It's not only trees that are in danger either-grapes, apples and other fruits can also be targeted, which in turn causes economic damage to those industries by destroying the crops or leaving marks on fruit so that farmers cannot sell them, according to Dr.

It's a beautiful insect, so it's a shame we have to kill them.' Their feeding stresses the plants and makes them vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. They suck on the sap of more than 70 species of plants including native trees like oak and maple but also the invasive Chinese sumac (the Ailanthus altissima, aka Tree of Heaven). In Pennsylvania's infestation, it was about 200 eggs per tree. They are smooth and brownish-gray with a shiny, waxy coating when first laid. Horrifically, females can lay multiple egg masses a year, from July to September. Their egg masses, which can be found on pretty much anything from tree trunks and rocks to cars and firewood, look like dried chewing gum.

What do spotted lanternfly eggs look like? The lower portions of their hindwings are red with black spots and the upper portions are dark with a white stripe. Their forewings are grayish with black spots. What does a spotted lanternfly look like?Īdult spotted lanternflies are approximately one-inch long and ½-inch wide at rest, with eye-catching wings. The bug is not actually a fly but is more closely related to the cicada. Native to China, these little suckers (literally, they suck out plant juices) hopped aboard some shipment to Pennsylvania in 2014 and they’ve been making moves in the northeast ever since. 2020 was the first year they were spotted in NYC (in Staten Island, specifically) but now they’re being spotted everywhere across the boroughs-near the Barclays Center, in Prospect Park, in Central Park, on the High Line, on Randall’s Island and even in private home gardens.Ī post shared by a Spotted Lanternfly today in !! Killed it quickly and gave it to someone from the Alliance for documentation. Where does the spotted lanternfly come from? Here’s what to know about the spotted lanternfly.

And now, having invaded Pennsylvania first in 2014, they've made their way to New York. While its name sounds like it's a cute and harmless little bug, it can actually be very devastating to our ecosystem and agriculture here in the U.S. Now? Say hello to the spotted lanternfly. Then, we were grossed out by the multitude of carcasses left behind by those loud-AF Brood X cicadas. Read on to find out how.įirst, we were threatened by those horrifically named murder hornets. Update: They’re back! Spotted Lanternflies have been…well, spotted all around the city this month and we’re still being encouraged to kill ’em.

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