Norristown Farm Park Testing Ground For Spotted Lanternfly Fight

NORRISTOWN, PA — Top scientists from Penn State and Cornell universities are testing out a new weapon in the fight against the spotted lanternfly right here in Montgomery County.

According to a news release from Penn State, scientists are seeing how effective a type of fungus is at eradicating the bug in Norristown Farm Park.

Two fungi — Batkoa major and Beauveria bassiana — are being deployed in the 695-acre county park, which has seen notable spotted lanternfly activity.

The fungi occur naturally in soil, are harmful to insects but harmless to humans, and Beauveria is already an ingredient in some EPA-approved biopesticides, according to the release.

According to Penn State scientists Nina Jenkins, when insects touch the fungi, they pick up fungal spores, which germinate and colonize the body, killing the insect in days.

In early July, the scientists set up four research plots on forested sections at the park that had dense populations of spotted lanternfly nymphs, the life stage before maturation.

The plots had a control group and an experimental group. These plots all contained Ailanthus altissima, commonly called "tree of heaven" which is the spotted lanternfly's preferred host.

They then used hydraulic sprayers to treat control sections with water, and treated the experimental tracts were sprayed with a commercial biopesticide containing the Beauveria fungus in water.

Falling insects were collected to compare levels of mortality between the water control plot and the Beauveria plot.

"We are cautiously optimistic," said David Biddinger, tree fruit research entomologist at PennState. "More needs to be studied, but if this research pans out, it could be a turning point. Time will tell."