Since the spotted lanternfly ’s unwished arriver in Berks County , Pennsylvania , in 2014 , investigator have been working tirelessly to take more about the trespassing plague , now affirm in 45 Pennsylvania county and reported in besiege State .
Native to Asia , the patched lanternfly was a new species in the United States , so there was little known about it at the time , say Julie Urban , research associate professor of entomology at Penn State .
“ It ’s a complex insect , and it takes a village to in full understand what we are take in and how this can inform management , ” said Urban about the pest , which feeds on the sap of fruit and landscape tree , grapevines , and woody ornamental plants . “ We are piddle discoveries and are sharing those findings with the public and with government and industriousness stakeholder . ”

Penn State is part of an interdisciplinary spotted lanternfly research group funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ’s Specialty Crops Research Initiative . The group also include the USDA Agricultural Research Service , USDA Animal , and Plant Health Inspection Service , Virginia Tech , the Northeastern IPM Center , the universities of Delaware and Rhode Island , and Temple , Rutgers , and Cornell universities .
Researchers are studying the pest ’s flight conduct , where it might travel , and the conditions it needs to flourish , its feeding druthers , and the electric potential to disrupt the lanternfly female reproductive cycle . Scientists also are judge the effectuality of biologic dominance agents .
educate the public about research discoveries go down to Penn State Extension educators , include Emelie Swackhamer and Amy Korman , who created a list of spotted lanternfly actualities , which they talk about during their presentations :
Pennsylvania regulative measures require that businesses transfer material must obtain a permission designate employees have been trained on designation and removal and that items have been inspected and are free of spotted lanternflies .
mortal can do their part to assist discontinue the facing pages of the pest by inspecting items , particularly those stored outside , before moving them and by destroying any egg masses and distinguish lanternfly nymph or adult upon uncovering .
More entropy about identifying and controlling spotted lanternflies , reporting an infestation , and complying with quarantine regulations is available on thePenn State Extension spotted lanternfly website .
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