© Shawn Dowd/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
(New York, NY) – This time of year, bugs are a reality. Gnats, mosquitoes, bees, and butterflies are all becoming more common sights in the air above the Tri-state, as spring marches forward. But among those various insects, perhaps few are more troubling to agricultural interests than the Spotted Lanternfly.
The insects, native to Asia, started appearing in the US over the past 10 years or so. They are especially destructive to grape vines, and so wineries in New York are highly focused on their extermination. And while exterminating the lanternflies outright may not be realistic anytime soon, New York and New Jersey residents are urged to “stomp” on the bugs when possible.
By the end of May, the expectation is the Spotted Lanternflies will be more or less everywhere and “taking over” in New York. The bugs experienced a population dip in 2022 and 20223, which is in line with what scientists have observed. The lanternflies tend to have boom and bust population cycles, as tied to their eating habits. And this is a boom year.
The red and tan winged bugs with black spots are expected back in bigger numbers this year, as told by scientists who spoke with the New York Post. The bugs main food source, called the Tree of Heaven, is eaten to such an extent by the Spotted Lanternflies that the greedy bugs have nothing left to eat next year. As those years grind on and the Tree of Heaven can replenish its numbers, Spotted Lanternflies have more to eat.
Now although the New York Department of Environmental Conservation wants people to stop the spread by immediately squishing the invasive species — they’re not so easy to stomp. They have an intense ability to jump high and far when threatened. But, it takes them a lot of energy to do that jump. If you go to stomp on the bug immediately following one of the “jumps” — you should get them pretty easily.
