Invasive spotted lanternfly takes more Pa. counties hostage
The invasive spotted lanternfly hasn’t yet shown its red wings this year, but state officials are preparing for its arrival.
On Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture announced eight new Pennsylvania counties are under spotted lanternfly quarantine, bringing the total to 34. While the winged insect is old hat to many Lehigh Valley residents, it will be new for those in Cambria, Cameron, Franklin, Lackawanna, Montour, Pike, Wayne and Westmoreland counties.
The spotted lanternfly landed in the U.S. in 2012 in Berks County, and has spread to other parts of Pennsylvania and the country. It’s an easily recognizable threat to the agricultural industry. The bugs aren’t picky when it comes to food, and their feeding habits, coupled with their sticky-sweet excretions that lead to mold, have resulted in harm to everything from fruit trees to grapes to hops to forestry.
A Penn State study released in January found the bug is costing the Pennsylvania economy about $50 million and eliminating nearly 500 jobs each year. If the insect expanded statewide, it could cause $325 million in damage and wipe out 2,800 jobs, the researchers estimated.
“The Spotted Lanternfly is more than a pest in the literal sense,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a news release, echoing a statement he made last year. “It’s wreaking havoc for home and business owners, kids who just want to play outside, Pennsylvania agriculture and the economy of the state we all call home. Whether you think it’s your job or not, we need every Pennsylvanian to keep their eyes peeled for signs of this bad bug — to scrape every egg mass, squash every bug, and report every sighting. We need to unite in our hatred for this pest for our common love: Pennsylvania.”
Last year, the first lanternflies hatched mid-April, but the overall population is more likely to hatch in May, said Heather Leach, an Extension associate with Penn State entymology. Right now, people can still scrape unhatched egg masses off trees and dispose of them in bags filled with alcohol, smash the eggs or burn them, or they can start building circle traps for when the eggs hatch.
Lehigh Valley residents could see a similar lanternfly population to that of prior years, Leach said. She often fields questions from people who want to know if harsh winters reduce the population.
“We don’t see that. These egg masses are pretty hardy,” Leach said. “I’d expect them to still be there and hang around and be that problematic flight activity we see every year.”
For the uninitiated, spotted lanternflies die every winter, leaving behind only egg masses to continue the population in the spring. When they hatch, the insects come out as black and white speckled, alien-looking nymphs that grow and add red over time. They typically turn into winged adults in mid-July.
Businesses that operate in or travel through quarantined counties are required to obtain a spotted lanternfly permit, and can face fines for noncompliance.
At least two Lehigh Valley colleges have issued statements of support for members of the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities as instances of harassment and violence against them increase during the coronavirus pandemic.
In a letter sent to students and staff Wednesday, Lafayette College officials denounced “all such racially motivated and xenophobic acts of harassment and violence” and urged members of the community to stand in solidarity with those on the receiving end of it.
Last week, Muhlenberg College President Kathleen Harring sent a similar letter to students and staff, saying the “rise in physical violence against Asian Americans is alarming and compounds the issues of inequity felt among Asian American communities during the pandemic.”
“Our Asian students, faculty and staff are struggling with the insidious anti-Asian hate that continues to pervade society — both nearby and around the world,” Harring said. “Muhlenberg condemns all forms of racism and stands in solidarity with our Asian American, Asian and Pacific Islander community members. We support them with steadfast resolve.”
Researchers have seen a marked uptick in racist attacks against Asians and Asian Americans during the pandemic, attributed at least in part to former President Donald Trump’s habit of blaming China for spreading the coronavirus.
Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit that tracks incidents of discrimination, hate and xenophobia against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., has received nearly 3,000 hate-incident reports across the country since the start of the pandemic.
A report from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, showed anti—Asian hate crimes surged 149% in 2020, “with the first spike occurring in March and April amidst a rise in COVID cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic.”
In the letter, Lafayette officials called on the community to make sure students and staff feel safe at the school.
“Reach out to students, faculty, and staff to ask about their well-being and offer assistance, interrupt any hateful speech or behavior, and report an incident of bias if you hear of or witness one,” according to the letter.
Students who have experienced any acts of harassment or bias can reach out to seek support, contact the Counseling Center for assistance or report it.
“Prejudice, discrimination, and violence against any one of us is prejudice, discrimination, and violence against all of us,” the letter ends.