Spotted Lanternfly

What it does

Spotted lanternflies are sap-sucking planthoppers that gather in large numbers on trunks and stems. They hop strongly rather than fly far. As they feed they excrete sugary honeydew that coats leaves, decks, and cars, encouraging black sooty mold and drawing wasps. Heavy feeding weakens grapevines and young trees.

Where it lives

This invasive favors tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) but feeds on more than 70 plants, including grape, maple, walnut, and fruit trees. It lays eggs on almost any flat surface: bark, stone, vehicles, and outdoor furniture. It is established across the Northeast and is spreading into the Midwest and Southeast.

How it breeds

There is one generation a year. Females lay gray, mud-like egg masses of 30-50 eggs in fall that overwinter. Eggs hatch in spring into black-and-white then red-and-black nymphs (four instars), maturing into winged adults by mid-summer. Adults die off after the first hard frosts.

What it eats

Both nymphs and adults feed only on plant sap, drawn from stems, trunks, and leaves with piercing mouthparts. They do not chew leaves or eat household food.

Identification

Adults are about an inch long at rest, with gray forewings marked by black spots and a brick pattern; the hidden hindwings flash red, white, and black. Nymphs are wingless: early stages are black with white spots, and the last stage is bright red with black and white markings.

Signs of an infestation

• Sticky honeydew and black sooty mold under trees
• Gray, putty-like egg masses on bark and flat surfaces
• Weeping sap and wasps or ants gathering on trunks
• Clusters of spotted insects hopping on stems
• Red-and-black spotted nymphs on garden plants

Prevention tips

• Scrape egg masses into a bag of alcohol or hand sanitizer in fall and winter
• Remove tree-of-heaven where possible, its preferred host
• Check vehicles, trailers, and firewood before moving them
• Wrap trunks with sticky or circle traps during nymph season
• Report new sightings to your state agriculture department

Professional solutions

Spotted lanternfly is hard to eradicate once established. Arborists and licensed applicators use targeted systemic or contact insecticides on high-value or repeatedly infested trees, and manage tree-of-heaven with herbicide. Because it is a regulated invasive, report sightings and follow any local quarantine before moving plants or outdoor items.