Researchers and bureaucrats bent to examine the blackened leaves of poplar trees and inspected the ailing Virginia creeper racing up the walls of a Berks County home.
The responsible party: A winged spotted lanternfly, a foreign invader first found in Pennsylvania in 2014.
Someone shouted they found one of the little spotted, brown blighters. But before anyone could get a closer look, stomp. The spotted lanternfly was dead.
“Sorry, I’ve been trained,” said Karin Wulkowicz, a master watershed steward coordinator, who didn’t sound all that sorry she’d stepped on it.
The property was infested with the pests, which experts say pose a multibillion-dollar threat to the state because of the damage the critters can do to grapes, stone fruits and other commodities. In the past few years, its range has spread to 13 Pennsylvania counties, as well as New Jersey and Virginia, despite experts’ efforts to stop it.
The insects lack native predators here to help keep the population under control, and relatively little is known about them.
Penn State is hoping to fill that gap by working on about 20 spotted lanternfly research projects funded by about $800,000 in state, federal and industry dollars. They also received about $1.2 million in federal funding for outreach and public awareness.
Penn State researchers are working to answer basic questions about the spotted lanternfly: Do they need to feed on the invasive tree of heaven to lay viable eggs? Which insecticides are most effective and how long are they effective for?
“We need to have the tools to manage these pests in grapes or tree fruits or for homeowners,” said Dennis Calvin, the associate dean and director of special programs. “We need to understand what makes this species tick.”
Researchers also are looking at how much damage the pests do to forests and crops; how exactly lanternfly feeding damages trees; lures; adult behavior; and how they disperse.
In total, state and federal agencies have designated more than $20 million to fighting the lanternflies.
Although found throughout the Lehigh Valley before, spotted lanternflies have been especially visible in downtown Allentown this summer. State experts recommend killing the bugs.
Their damage was on display last week during a tour of Berks County, where the lanternfly was first found in 2014: Blackened leaves were a sign of sooty mold, which grows from the sweet substance, known as honeydew, spotted lanternflies produce. They also damage vines, like the Virginia creeper, by feeding on them and excreting the honeydew.
In another wooded area, a tree of heaven — an invasive tree favored by the lanternfly — had telltale black mold on its bark. Trees outside the office of state Sen. Judy Schwank were so infested their leaves looked like they’d been rained on, but instead they were covered in honeydew.
About 50 people took the tour, organized by Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, to see the type of damage spotted lanternflies can do and learn about Penn State’s research projects.
Some studies are taking place at Manatawny Creek Winery, where one row of vines has been designated for research. Each vine is kept in a white mesh cage to keep the lanternflies in so researchers can determine how many bugs it takes to truly damage the plant.
Penn State professor Tom Baker said researchers observed spotted lanternflies in 2015 and 2016, but they mostly sat around and fed, they didn’t fly.
But after that, they started to move. He’s learned they can fly at speeds of 3 meters per second, and fly into the wind at 4.6 meters per second. The flying bugs tend to be skinny. Once they settle down, they mature and get fat and yellow.
It’s too early to know the results of most of the studies, although Penn State Extension has published a list of insecticides that have proven effective against the lanternfly.
In the meantime, experts continue to recommend killing the insects, whether with insecticides, flyswatters or a shoe.