By Tom Dayton
The latest critter to arrive is now the spotted lanternfly. Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania became ground zero in 2014 but now has spread to Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and even eastern Ohio. The insect’s harmful tendencies tends to be its ability to pierce young trees and suck the sap from them.
While not life threatening in itself, the sap sucking does weaken the tree so that it may succumb to other maladies. The insect prefers the healthiest of young trees most likely because there is a free sap flow.
The tree of heaven is its favorite host tree in Asia and can be used as a trap tree as the insects gather and can be physically removed or the tree can be injected with a systemic insecticide that kills them when they feed on the sap.
While helpful, the trap tree method has its limits as it is like one drop in the ocean considering the entire infestation. While the insect has wings it is not likely to fly long distances but can climb high in a tree and catch the wind to find another host tree.
Primarily the agent of spread is through the transportation network as the insect attaches its egg case not only a tree but almost any inanimate object similar to the Gypsy moth.
Nymphs first appear from the egg cases in late July in Pennsylvania and can be seen hopping on its host tree. At least 65 species have been identified as host plants including fruit trees, grapes, ornamental trees, herbaceous perennials, silver maples and black walnuts.
The eastern United States, Mid-West, west coast and Pacific Northwest seem to be fertile territory as it spreads throughout the country and for sure crop damage will exceed billions of dollars accompanied by job losses.
The famed and now deceased economist, Milton Freidman was a proponent of free trade and its many benefits. Unfortunately, Milton did not factor in the monetary losses and losses to our forests and natural wonders to invasive species such as the Asian long-horned beetle, Emerald Ash Borer, or Marmorated stink bug to name just a few.
According to Ken Cochran, former curator of the Secrest Arboretum in Wooster, Ohio, more invasive species have entered into the United States in the last 20 years since its founding. What additional measures will the state and local governments take to protect our trees and food supply? It seems to be analogous to a foreign terrorist plot.