USDA warns of invasive lanternfly threat in state

Residents are asked to report sightings

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is asking Connecticut residents for their help detecting the invasive spotted lanternfly.

The lanternfly feeds on and destroys local crops, plants and trees, according to the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which is calling on residents to keep an eye out for the insect and its eggs.

The spotted lanternfly is native to China and Vietnam but was first spotted in the United States in 2014 and has since infested at least 14 states, the USDA said.

It was first spotted in Farmington in 2018, followed by sightings in Southbury in 2019. In 2020, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven announced that adult spotted lanternflies also were detected in New Canaan. The USDA said they have recently been spotted in Greenwich and West Haven.

The insects can easily “hitchhike” on stationary objects, quickening their spread.

“The good news is that people are on the frontlines of finding and fighting the spread of this deadly pest,” the USDA said in a statement.

In addition to the insects themselves, experts are worried about the spread of their eggs.

The spotted lanternfly lays mud-like egg masses on things such as bikes, cars, moving vans, trains, planes, boats, buses, tree bark, lawnmowers and grills. Once they hatch, they target crops and plants such as tree-of-haven grapes, apples, hops, walnuts and hardwood trees, the USDA said.

The insects are in their egg mass stage in the spring, which experts said is the best time to find and remove them, so the USDA is urging residents to look for their egg masses and crush them if they see them.

“It’s critical to slow the spread of this pest in Connecticut before it reaches all 50 states and does irreparable damage to our nation’s agriculture,” the USDA said in its statement.

Anyone who spots the insect or its eggs outside of Greenwich and West Haven is asked to send photos to ReportSLF@ ct.gov or report the sighting via this submission form.

For more information, the USDA recommends visiting HungryPests.com or StopSLF. org.