Beautiful though invasive, no one would have imagined these pretty creatures to be destructive! But the fact is they are indeed resulting in menace in areas where they are spotted.
They call it the lantern fly!
Adult lantern flies are inconspicuous spotted, brownish-grey plant hoppers about 1″ to 1¼” long. The front wings are grey with black spots, and the hind wings are red, black, and white. The legs and head are black, and the abdomen is yellow with broad black bands. Inconspicuous, that is until they hop or take flight and show off their bright orange-red and white underwings.
The Spotted Lanternfly is native to China, India, and Vietnam, and can cause major damage to grapes, fruit trees, and other trees and shrubs in other areas, such as the U.S. First detected in the United States in Berks County, Pennsylvania in September 2014, they are spreading rapidly and present a serious threat to gardens, orchards, and woodlands.
This insect is considered a threat to crops and many people are working to try to prevent it from spreading. Soon the females will begin to lay eggs. Each female will lay up to 100 eggs or more this fall, so by destroying even one female, you are reducing the potential population for the future.
Egg masses adhere to flat surfaces, including tree bark. Freshly laid egg masses have a grey, waxy, mud-like coating, while hatched eggs look like brownish, seed-like deposits in four to seven columns about an inch long. Trees attacked by the spotted lanternfly will show a grey or black trail of sap down the trunk.
As they feed, the insects excrete a sticky substance called honeydew, which is rapidly colonized by sooty mold, turning leaves, stems, and trunks black. It also attracts ants, wasps, and other insects that feed on the sweet substance.
They are back:
Spotted lanternfly invasion of South Jersey has begun
by Frank Kummer, Posted: July 23, 2020
These Cherry Hill residents are experiencing a full invasion of the pest from Asia that first appeared in the United States in Berks County in 2014. The invasive insect has already swept through 21 counties in Pennsylvania. This year, the spotted lanternfly seems to have fully established itself in densely populated South Jersey counties like Camden, Gloucester, and Burlington.
The first season of eggs, laid in fall and hatched in spring, are now fully grown, wildly colorful adults hopping from tree to tree.
Recently spotted lanternfly has potential for devastation
By Hilary Holladay Orange County Review Feb 4, 2018
ORANGE — Watch out for the spotted lanternfly.
That’s the word from Shawn Appling, associate extension agent for horticulture, serving Orange, Culpeper, and Madison counties. The invasive insect was spotted in Frederick County in early January, and it is the menace of potentially devastating proportions.
The red-winged, black spotted bug sucks the life out of grapevines and fruit trees and typically makes its home in the tree of heaven, an invasive tree that is all too familiar to property owners in and around Orange County.
Many measures are used to prevent the damage caused by the lanternfly such as the use of insecticides, herbicides, cutting down the trees infested with lanternflies etc. These all methods have proved to be ineffective.
Now, we no longer have to depend on conventional, toxic insecticides to deal with these pests!
We need a long-term and effective solution to control their nuisance. We at C Tech Corporation have a solution to combat against the lantern fly.
TermirepelTM anti-insect repellent is a C Tech Corporation product which is a solution to prevent the infestation against these pesky little black flies.
TermirepelTM does not kill the target species but only repels them thus balancing the ecology and thus helping in maintaining the goal of sustainability.
Our product works on the mechanism of repellency. It temporarily inhibits the mating cycle of the insects. The product impairs the ability of the insects to reproduce, that is the insects will not lay eggs or the laid eggs will be infertile. The product causes feeding disruption in an insect by triggering an unpleasant reaction within the insect which might try to feed on the application. The product temporarily blocks the reproduction system of the insects by hindering the release of the vital hormones for growth.
TermirepelTM liquid concentrate which can be diluted in paints in a specific ratio can be applied to the concrete fences around farms, homes, etc. to keep the lantern flies away.
TermirepelTM lacquer can be coated as a topical application on the surface of the wood, concrete metal etc. It can be applied on the tree trunks to keep these pests at a bay.
Besides this, we offer Termirepel™ masterbatches that can be added to tree guards, agricultural film, pipes, even cables to protect them from the ravaging insects.
Contact us at technical.marketing@ctechcorporation.com if you are facing problems with insects.
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