Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Expands Into Bucks County

By Justin Heinze

The spotted lanternfly quarantine has expanded into nine additional municipalities in southeastern Pennsylvania, including some in Bucks County, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture announced recently.

Sightings of the fly have been confirmed in Springfield, East Rockhill, West Rockhill, Perkasie and Sellersville in Bucks County. Sightings have also been confirmed in Telford, Montgomery County and Muhlenberg and Laureldale in Berks County.

Under quarantine, movements of material that could spread the pest are restricted. Nymph and adult spotted lanternflies cause extensive damage when they feed, sucking sap from stems and leaves and causing the plant to ooze and weep.

Not only does the plant die but the “fermented odor” caused by the feeding, along with the fluid excreted by the insects themselves, promotes mold growth and draws even more insects, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

State officials say that the total number of Pennsylvania municipalities currently under quarantine is 84.

The roughly inch-long plant hopper is a native to China, India, and Vietnam. There are 25 species of plants in Pennsylvania which the lanternfly has been known to feed off of. Click here for more details from the state Department of Agriculture.

Here is what they look like. (More images can be found here.)

“This is our third season of combatting the Spotted Lanternfly, and despite extensive work that has helped slow the spread of this potentially devastating invasive pest, the addition of these new municipalities illustrates just how challenging a task that is,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a statement.

“Our goal remains to eliminate this pest from Pennsylvania and see to it that it does not spread elsewhere. But to do that, we need the public to help us by watching out for these pests, reporting new infestations, and ensuring that they don’t hitch a ride when you travel.”

In addition to ecological degradation, the lanternfly can have a significant economic impact. The bug threatens Pennsylvania's $20.5 million grape industry, $134 million apple industry, $24 million stone fruit industry, and $12 billion hardwood industry, agriculture officials said.

Bucks County residents who find spotted lanternflies are asked to take a photograph if possible, immediately destroy them, and then alert the State Department of Agriculture at (717) 787-4737.
Image via Commons courtesy CC BY-SA 3.0