Resource Database

Origin
Lycorma delicatula, spotted lanternfly is an invasive planthopper which is thought to be native to China. It is also present in Southeast Asia and South Korea. It is known to primarily affect tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissima. It has been detected on many host plants, including apples, plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, almonds, and pine. It also feeds on oak, walnut, poplar, and grapes. If allowed to spread in the United States, this pest could seriously harm the country’s grape, orchard, and logging industries. It is highly threatening to native communities. L. delicatula was first detected in the United States in Pennsylvania in September 2014.

Life Cycle
L. delicatula has different hosts during different developmental stages. Nymphs feed on a wide range of plant species. Adults feed and lay eggs primarily on A. altissima. Adult males are from 0.81-0.87 in (20.5-22 mm) long from head to the end of the folded wing and females are 0.94-1.04 in (24-26.5 mm) long. Eggs are laid primarily on smooth host plant surfaces and on material, such as bricks, stones, and dead plants. Eggs hatch in the spring and early summer, and nymphs begin feeding by sucking sap from young stems and leaves of its host plants. Adults appear in late July and feed mainly on A. altissima and grapevine, Vitis vinifera. Nymphs are black with white spots in early stages of development. Nymphs turn red just before becoming adults. As the adults feed, they excrete sticky, sugar-rich fluid similar to honeydew. The fluid can build up on plants and on the ground underneath infested plants, causing sooty mold to form.

Distribution
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued a quarantine with the intent to restrict the movement of L. delicatula on November 1, 2014. So far, six townships and two boroughs in eastern Berks County are under a limited movement quarantine as the Department and its federal, state, local and non-governmental cooperators develop a strategy to eliminate this pest from Pennsylvania.