If you live in the Greater Springfield area, you may have seen the invasive spotted lanternfly zipping around this summer. The bug itself is quite stunning: it boasts ruby red inner wings, outlined by grey translucent outer wings dappled with striking black spots. Less enticing is the effect the lanternfly has on the local ecosystem.
The insect feeds on the sap of trees and other woody plants, slowly killing them and leaving behind a sticky residue. They follow their favorite food, a plant called tree of heaven — itself invasive — whose hardy nature allows it to flourish even in urban centers, meaning there’s seemingly no limit to where lanternflies will take root. The bugs were first spotted in the state in 2021, and since then they’ve infested nearly every county in Massachusetts according to data from the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR).
The spread
“We’re now at over 150 cities and towns across the state that have spotted lanternfly,” said Jennifer Forman Orth, an environmental biologist with MDAR. “Any place where you can find their host plants, you’re going to eventually find Lanternflies.”
Forman Orth is not optimistic about the extent to which the state can rid itself of the invasive creatures. She said MDAR is instead focusing its energy on managing the pests and slowing their spread.
“We know that even if we had infinite funds, it would be challenging to try to completely get rid of an insect that can fly and produces lots of offspring and spreads on vehicles,” Forman Orth said. “It’s just too tricky.”
The state is instead using their distinctly less-than-infinite funds to work with Massachusetts farmers and growers on how to best protect their crops from the insects.
“We’re trying to be proactive and focus our limited resources on survey and treatment in places where we know it’s going to have the greatest impact,” Forman Orth said. “That means trying to safeguard agricultural resources and also keeping an eye on our northern borders with New Hampshire and Vermont, because northern New England does not yet have a confirmed infestation of spotted lanternfly.”
Alongside the tree of heaven, lanternflies also have an appetite for grapevines. That means they pose substantial risk to vineyards in Massachusetts, according to Elise Petit, a faculty member at the Stockbridge School of Agriculture at UMass Amherst.
“They do take resources from the plant. So getting less yield for that year is one risk,” Petit said. “And also long term, the feeding over years is going to have some effect on the longevity of those grapes.”
The Stockbridge School helps run grape and fruit research at Cold Spring Orchard in Belchertown. Petit said they’ve been trained by MDAR to identify lanternflies and their egg masses, and are now passing that information along to local vineyard managers.
“We host what we call a twilight meeting. And during that twilight meeting, a lot of growers came,” Petit said. “So we were able to show them what [the] spotted lanternfly looks like, so that they can then bring that knowledge back to their vineyards.”
She joked that they were worried they would be spreading actual lanternflies at their meeting. The bugs can plant egg masses in a car’s undercarriage, durable enough to survive a road trip and hatch new lanternflies. She said everyone was cautioned to triple-check before leaving.
“We actually were laughing about that because we were thinking, oh my God, just be careful,” Petit said. “Check your clothes and check your cars, etc. Because yeah, you can bring them back.”
State recommendations
Currently the state recommends pesticide treatments and crop netting as tools to manage lanternflies. Forman Orth with MDAR says there is some promising research on the federal level to find a natural biological control for lanternflies in the form of an insect that would eat them, but that is still at least a few years out. And even with a biological control, Forman Orth said lanternflies would not be exterminated completely.
“It takes several years of careful research before they start to release an insect like that,” Forman Orth said. “So we’re hopeful that that will reach the final stages within the next few years. And biological controls are not meant to eradicate a pest, but they can help manage levels of these pests.”
For now, the state recommends residents look out for the bugs and their egg masses — checking their clothes and vehicles to ensure they aren’t unwittingly playing a part in their spread. The bugs begin to lay eggs en masse in the fall, which appear as an inch-long smear of gray or beige.
Officials say if you see lanternflies or their eggs in areas around Springfield, Worcester, or Attleboro, filing a report is optional since they know the bugs are out there in force. The state is recommending reporting a lanternfly sighting if it is in an area the state currently believes to be un-infested — that includes much of Berkshire County and Franklin County.
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