Article Author:
Associated Press
Michael Hill
Stephen Nixon recently noticed a "beautiful" spotted lantern fly by his bag while skateboarding in Brooklyn. When he did, he listened to the demands of the city authorities.
He stepped on it.
"I don't like killing things. A lot of people don't. If I see a cockroach in my apartment, I catch it and release it," said Nixon. "But it seems like it would be worse if this exploded."
Killing calls in New York City and elsewhere are now seen in many parts of the eastern United States as dense, plant-eating Spotted with red wing patterns, the lantern fly is nevertheless both a nuisance and a threat. A kind of insect that encourages people to post about crushing and stomping on social media.
In cities, they crowd outside buildings and land on pedestrians. They excrete a sticky substance called honeydew that can collect on outdoor furniture. Sap-sucking insects also pose a danger to grapes and other crops, causing alarms in New York wine regions this summer.
Across the mid-Atlantic states, officials are asking people to help track and slow its spread, even if it has to trip them up.
"Be careful," said Chris Roeg of the New York Department of Agriculture.
Native to Asia, northwest of Philadelphia, he was first discovered in the United States in 2014. Insect eggs may have arrived with a pile of landscaping stones. Eight years later, infestations have been reported in 13 states, mostly on the East Coast, according to Cornell University's New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. Individual insects have been found in more states, with two of hers found in Iowa this summer.
This insect has spread so quickly because it stealthily hitchhikes. Drivers during this time unwittingly give lift to moth-looking adults, perched inside the trunk, in his wheel wells, or on bumpers.
"Check your car," Rogue warned. "What you really want is something that could be alive, lurking in there and not being blown out of your car on your trip...really, really important."
People also unwittingly carry lanternfly eggs, which are laid later in the season. The female lays her mass of 30 or more eggs on all sorts of surfaces, from tree trunks to patio furniture. Eggs laid on movable surfaces such as camper trailers and train cars can hatch in the spring many miles away.
Butterflyfish fighters They do everything from spraying pesticides to cutting down heaven trees, another invasive species that are good hosts for butterflyfish. But public participation is paramount.
In Pennsylvania, residents of quarantined counties check dozens of items for pests, from cars to camping equipment to lumber and shrubs, before heading to non-quarantine destinations.
Around the eastern part of the country is being asked to report sightings in order to track the spread.
if you see it. Show no mercy.
"Kill it. Crush it, crush it... just remove it," reads a post from a Pennsylvania farmer.
New York City parks managers agree, advising them to 'crush and dispose of'.
"Jersey's Stomp Join his team," read a sign in New Jersey, showing shoes trying to ward off insects.
Heide Estes said she did just that this month after seeing a spotted lantern fly during her Sunday walk in Long Branch, New Jersey.
"I came back and said to her partner, 'Look, I saw a great white shark,'" said Estes. Let's see."
There was more.
Her partner, an entomologist, put four of her in her plastic bottle to show her college colleagues what it looked like. They killed at least a dozen people. Many people were gathered at the Tree of Heaven.
"Obviously the whole place was infected," she said.
The infestation in New York State was concentrated in metropolitan areas, but is now spreading near the state's wine-producing vineyards. , worried about the fate of Long Island vineyards.Senator Chuck Schumer said on Sunday that insects could prey on millions of people in the state.
}"Spotted lantern flies suck sap from vines," said Brian Echenauer, Cornell's pest program expert. "And the vines can be lost during the growing season because they become less tolerant of winter." goes dormant. Although the vineyards around New York are already on the lookout.
Finger He Sheldrake of Lakes His Point At his winery, vineyard manager David Wieman already knows that workers in the queue are on guard. He said he was.
"We talked about how detrimental it was to the vineyard," Wieman said. "So if they see it, they'll let me know."
