If you’re ever feeling down about climate change, think of all those times you squashed flies. No, really! Those flies you’ve been killing your whole life have been eating away at our environment. Little did you know, the flies you’re swiping away from your face are lanternflies, the newest climate epidemic. What might seem like a small inconvenience to you during a nice summer day is a destroyer of ecosystems that harms various insects, birds, and plants. When it comes to spotting lanternflies, The Pack is here to provide you with some information to tackle the issue at hand.
Lycorma delicatula, most commonly known as spotted lanternflies or lanternflies, are an invasive planthopper that feeds on a variety of plants like grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees (United States Department of Agriculture). Nicknamed the hitchhiking pest, lanternflies are originally native to Asia. Lanternflies were first spotted in the US in Pennsylvania in 2014. lanternflies typically create nests in grills, vehicles, trailers, firewood,outdoor, furniture, bikes and toys.
An insect as small as a fly may seem harmless, but what makes this species so detrimental to the environment is its ability to reduce crop yields and attract other insects. Lanternflies excrete a sugary substance called honeydew that attracts bees, ants, and wasps (Baltimore City Government). Additionally, the honeydew substance creates sooty mold, which can destroy plants and crops in large quantities (Baltimore City Government).
A lot of people wonder how they can counteract the invasive species. One of the biggest things that can help you is being able to identify and swap lanternflies. Lanternflies are one inch long and one inch wide. They have tan upper wings with spots and prominent bright red lower wings. Simply swatting them away can help in the moment, but doesn’t benefit the environment in the long-term. The different ways to help eradicate the pest problem are by reporting an infestation to your state’s department of agriculture, crushing any egg infestations that you don’t recognize with alcohol and scraping them off, and using insecticides and sticky traps to catch infestations (Baltimore City Government).
Even if you feel like you can’t provide much help to ending the Lanternfly infestation, simply being on the lookout and swatting a couple away benefits the environment. However, if you feel more passionate about putting a stop to this invasive species, The Pack urges you to research various volunteer environmental organizations to make a dent in eradicating this species. Anyone can help in a variety of ways that will benefit the Earth in the long-term.
