Spotted Lanternfly
Spotted Lanternfly
Northeast Ohio is once again preparing for a foreign pest invader. The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper native to Asia that first appeared in Pennsylvania in 2014. Although this pest is a slow traveler, reported to only move 3-4 miles a year on it's own, it is easily moved by people. In 2019, egg masses were discovered in a rail yard in Beaver County PA, only 15 miles from the Ohio border.
This invasive pest is of great concern because of the large range of species it will attack. It has been found feeding on over 70 different plant species. It will feed on grapevines, hops, fruit trees, and many native trees including oak, maple, beech, birch, elm, hickory, linden, sassafrass and serviceberry. This pest may have huge economic impacts on our wine, orchard, lumber and landscaping industries.
Even though the spotted lanternfly will feed on many different plant species, it does have a favorite. The tree-of-heaven (Alianthus altissima) seems to be it's preferred host. This less than desirable tree species may even be essential to the survival of spotted lanternfly. Research is currently being conducted to determine the significance of this relationship.
The important thing to understand about the link between tree-of-heaven and the spotted lanternfly is that they will infest this species first. This known relationship may be used to help discover and track this invasive pest. Tree-of-heaven trees can be used as traps or monitoring stations to look for all life stages of this invasive pest. They may be present as egg masses, nymphs, or adults.
The intent of this map is to provide the location of public Tree-of-heaven trees that may serve as Spotted lanternfly monitoring stations. As new tree-of-heaven trees are added to the map, citizens, arborists, and entomologists can periodically survey the mapped trees for signs of infestation.
If you know of a Tree-of-heaven in a public location and would like to add it to the map you can drop a pin via text to (330) 554-3387. Instructions on how to drop a pin on Google Maps can be found here: Send a Dropped Pin Trees that are in public areas near parking lots, roadside rest areas, or transportation and shipping cooridors would be preferred.
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