Some of us eagerly await summer every year, ready for days of sunshine, picnics, ice cream—and, perhaps not so eagerly, an influx of spotted lanternflies. If you live in the Midwest or East Coast of the United States, you’ve likely seen the insect with its spotted wings and red hindwings flying about or just sitting on the pavement.
The issue is that spotted lanternflies are invasive, meaning they are non-native to ecosystems in the U.S. With so many proliferating the region, what can we do?
We spoke to expert Dr. Kelly Oten, assistant professor and extension specialist at North Carolina State University, for her insight on all things spotted lanternflies—from how they damage plants to what to do when you see one (stomp or save?), and more.
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All invasive spotted lanternflies are detected in the Eastern and Midwest regions of the United States, according to Dr. Oten. As such, they can be found across many states.
“They were first found in the U.S. in 2014 in southeastern Pennsylvania,” Dr. Oten says. «Since then, they have spread and can be sporadically found as far south as North Carolina and Tennessee, as far west as Illinois, as far north as New York, and as far east as Massachusetts.”
The way that spotted lanternflies spread, however, is not just due to their wings.
“While spotted lanternflies [can] fly short distances to new areas, the primary way they continue to spread is through accidental movement by people,” Dr. Oten explains. “Females can lay egg masses on a variety of objects—sometimes trees, but also manmade objects that may be moved, like vehicles, outdoor furniture, or brick and stone.”
Once they catch a ride, spotted lanternflies can easily be moved tens or even hundreds of
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