Perspective: shedding light on spotted lanternfly impacts in the USA

Abstract

Spotted lanternfly (SLF), Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) is an invasive phloem‐feeding planthopper currently being quarantined in a 24 000 km2 area in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware, with a second population under quarantine in a 46 km2 area in Virginia. Because this insect feeds on over 70 species of plants, it has the potential to impact a wide range of sectors, and as a result, there has been great public speculation that the economic impact of SLF could be severe. SLF is a large‐bodied voracious feeder that reduces plant resources directly by feeding, and indirectly, from sooty mold that grows on its excrement and blocks photosynthesis. SLF is causing severe damage to vineyards from feeding, and is a significant nuisance pest. It has high potential for spread via human‐mediated transport, particularly of egg cases, and may therefore significantly impact commerce in the near future. The ultimate impacts of this insect are not yet known, and will depend upon its longer term impacts on plant and tree health, and the extent to which its range expands. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

The Inability of Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) to Vector a Plant Pathogen between its Preferred Host, Ailanthus altissima, in a Laboratory Setting

“…Fourth instars and the first set of adults collected were placed within symptomatic or asymptomatic potted seedling cages, while the second set of adults were exposed to logs collected from symptomatic or asymptomatic trees. The use of logs was included to account for adult L. delicatula's reported preference for feeding on woody plant tissues [3]. These insects were allowed to feed on the provided plant material for 48 h, during which active feeding and insect survival was monitored at the 24 and 48 h marks.…”

“…Very high levels of survival were observed during this five-day experiment. This indicates that though L. delicatula are not easy to rear in laboratory conditions [3], they can be easily field collected and studied during short periods when their populations are abundant in the field.…”

“…The recent accidental introduction and rapid spread of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), from its native range in China to Pennsylvania, US is a cause of much concern [1][2][3]. With economic impacts that are just beginning to be understood, it is likely that this hard to control insect will negatively impact vineyards, orchards, ornamental plants, timber trees, and residential properties [4][5][6][7].…”

“…However, studies from South Korea and the US suggest that the non-native tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima (Miller) Swingle) is its preferred host. This is especially apparent as L. delicatula's host range narrows during its later life stages [1,[3][4][5][6][7]. The preference for A. altissima may be driven by the tree's high sugar content [4] and L. delicatula ability to sequester the tree's quassinoids to use as defense chemicals [7].…”

Characterizing the spatial distributions of spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in Pennsylvania vineyards

“…Currently, pest management for SLF in grape has relied heavily on repeated insecticide applications. Unsurprisingly, the number of insecticide applications in SLF infested vineyards has increased drastically, with most vineyards increasing applications by 2-5 times as compared to pre-SLF infestation 20 . SLF is expected to continue to be a serious threat to many agricultural and ornamental industries.…”