Spotted Lantern Fly
- Thread starter Bowsnbucks
- Start date
weekender21
5 year old buck +
I wonder if the NWC nursery is in the quarantine zone. These articles are pretty grim, certainly doesn't sound like the spread of this little devil bug will be stopped.
Bill
Administrator
That article is pretty bleak. Systemic herbicide is cost prohibitive on a large scale. It costs me $22/year in herbicide to treat 3 yoshino cedars in my yard against pine bark beetles. I can't imagine trying to protect an entire orchard.
trampledbyturtles
5 year old buck +
Yikes, might need to make a few phone calls.
Don't wanna be responsible for bringing these little pukes to the prairie.
Yet another reason I have to hate bugs.
Already making preparations to start dropping my green ash and find a replacement, alot of shelterbelts in the area are gunna disappear in the next couple of decades.
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Bowsnbucks
5 year old buck +
Thanks, Native, for posting that link at post #19.
From personal up-close experience, I can tell you guys that the egg masses are fairly easy to spot. They appear as a muddy-looking, grayish-brown patch about 1" to 1 1/2" long, 1/4" deep, and about 1/2" wide. If an egg mass were on a scion, it would be very noticeable.
As to the spread of spotted lantern fly - I don't see it stopping. The little b-stards fly up under vehicles and hide there in wheel wells, in the frame, etc. With all the truck traffic and shipping from and through this "area of origin" ( SE Pa. ), I see no effective way to stop them. Unless the Feds make vehicle fumigation, and shipping container fumigation a reality, we're all in for a national nightmare. I've spoken to Penn State extension professionals and they say there is no current plan to mass spray by the state or the Feds. Aerial spraying won't work because the spray must contact the lantern flies, and the tree canopies will act as umbrellas to shield the bugs from spray contact. Much research is being done to find a natural pathogen or predatory insect that will attack the lantern flies. Research is also being done to disrupt their sexual capability so they can't reproduce.
Last year at this time, I had seen maybe 3 to 4 dozen on my maple tree in the front yard. This year - I've probably had upwards of 1000 on the same tree - and I scraped every egg mass off that maple tree last fall, letting them fall into a container of paint thinner, which kills the eggs. ( the maple tree is still fairly young, so it's possible to get to the egg masses. Bigger trees - forget it. ) The lantern flies can fly in the adult stage, and can cover a lot of ground. They spread themselves without any help from vehicles or shipping practices. Thankfully, I treated that maple tree with a soil drench this early summer, and when they suck sap from a treated tree, they end up dying. I must have 300 dead at the base of that tree and lots more dead laying around our property. Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub is what I used at the advice of Penn State. It has Imidacloprid as the active ingredient. Dinotefuran is also recommended. Penn State sent me info by e-mail and snail-mail on combatting them.
These things are a big leaf-hopper kind of bug. They don't bite or sting, but when they get established, they'll creep you out with sheer numbers. They can jump to around 10 ft., roughly, as quick as lightning. I've tried spraying them directly with ant-roach spray - which WILL kill them - but they are quicker than the spray coming out of the can in many instances !!
The trees & plants they are attracted to for feeding and laying eggs are the "tree-of-heaven"- ( it's natural target back in Asia - also an imported tree ), maple trees, grape vines, some various landscape shrubs ( that I have no accurate info on ), and possibly orchard fruit trees like apples and peaches, although it's early in the evidence gathering on these. They can lay eggs anywhere - on buildings, vehicles, boats, trailers, fences, and on trees they DON'T suck sap from - just lay their eggs on them. ( I have a huge pin oak in the front yard also that I'm sure has egg masses up in the top branches that are "safe" from any human intervention. )
My advice to you guys is to read up on these vermin from hell, and alert local authorities like your extension agents or state agriculture folks AS SOON as you see one.
From personal up-close experience, I can tell you guys that the egg masses are fairly easy to spot. They appear as a muddy-looking, grayish-brown patch about 1" to 1 1/2" long, 1/4" deep, and about 1/2" wide. If an egg mass were on a scion, it would be very noticeable.
As to the spread of spotted lantern fly - I don't see it stopping. The little b-stards fly up under vehicles and hide there in wheel wells, in the frame, etc. With all the truck traffic and shipping from and through this "area of origin" ( SE Pa. ), I see no effective way to stop them. Unless the Feds make vehicle fumigation, and shipping container fumigation a reality, we're all in for a national nightmare. I've spoken to Penn State extension professionals and they say there is no current plan to mass spray by the state or the Feds. Aerial spraying won't work because the spray must contact the lantern flies, and the tree canopies will act as umbrellas to shield the bugs from spray contact. Much research is being done to find a natural pathogen or predatory insect that will attack the lantern flies. Research is also being done to disrupt their sexual capability so they can't reproduce.
Last year at this time, I had seen maybe 3 to 4 dozen on my maple tree in the front yard. This year - I've probably had upwards of 1000 on the same tree - and I scraped every egg mass off that maple tree last fall, letting them fall into a container of paint thinner, which kills the eggs. ( the maple tree is still fairly young, so it's possible to get to the egg masses. Bigger trees - forget it. ) The lantern flies can fly in the adult stage, and can cover a lot of ground. They spread themselves without any help from vehicles or shipping practices. Thankfully, I treated that maple tree with a soil drench this early summer, and when they suck sap from a treated tree, they end up dying. I must have 300 dead at the base of that tree and lots more dead laying around our property. Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub is what I used at the advice of Penn State. It has Imidacloprid as the active ingredient. Dinotefuran is also recommended. Penn State sent me info by e-mail and snail-mail on combatting them.
These things are a big leaf-hopper kind of bug. They don't bite or sting, but when they get established, they'll creep you out with sheer numbers. They can jump to around 10 ft., roughly, as quick as lightning. I've tried spraying them directly with ant-roach spray - which WILL kill them - but they are quicker than the spray coming out of the can in many instances !!
The trees & plants they are attracted to for feeding and laying eggs are the "tree-of-heaven"- ( it's natural target back in Asia - also an imported tree ), maple trees, grape vines, some various landscape shrubs ( that I have no accurate info on ), and possibly orchard fruit trees like apples and peaches, although it's early in the evidence gathering on these. They can lay eggs anywhere - on buildings, vehicles, boats, trailers, fences, and on trees they DON'T suck sap from - just lay their eggs on them. ( I have a huge pin oak in the front yard also that I'm sure has egg masses up in the top branches that are "safe" from any human intervention. )
My advice to you guys is to read up on these vermin from hell, and alert local authorities like your extension agents or state agriculture folks AS SOON as you see one.
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