I try to be really polite on my social media, but today's post has me wanting to unleash a creative string of profanity.
Thanks to a citizen scientist using iNaturalist (and, by the way, all iNat users are by default citizen scientists), a spotted lanternfly (Lycorma deliculata) nymph was spotted in Portland, less than a mile from my apartment. It's the third verified sighting of this highly invasive species in Oregon, the first being in The Dalles in 2023, and one in Eugene last year. There's no telling how many there are across the region now, but given that these have primarily been a problem east of the Mississippi it's disheartening to see their spread here.
Spotted lanternflies are native to China and Japan, but have since become destructive invasive species in South Korea and North America. I wrote up a more detailed description of them here on my website. They attack a wide variety of plants, to include native species and agricultural crops.
Their preferred host tree is the tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima), which is itself also a pernicious invasive species here in North America. It can be very difficult to control, and is most effectively killed with herbicides applied to cuts in the bark--simply cutting it down won't help, because it just grows back, and it can be very difficult to dig up entirely once established. While lanternfly nymphs can survive on other plants, they are not as healthy as those on tree of heaven, and so taking away their host is a big step in slowing them down.
Speaking of big steps, if you see a lanternfly or its egg casings, stomp on it! It's an immediate death, and it removes it from the breeding pool. This is especially important in spring and summer when lanternflies are still in their nymph stages, because they aren't able to breed until they're adults in the fall.
Finally, this is a great example of how vital citizen science is in getting more observers out in the field, and also how we need professional scientists (like those at the Oregon Department of Agriculture) to get the word out to the general public with information about invasive species. The USDA also has valuable articles about lanternflies on their website and has been working on the spotted lanternfly problem since the insects first arrived here in 2014. The United States has been a leader in the sciences for decades, and it's important we keep it that way for so many reasons, to include protecting our food and our natural areas.
