Spotted Lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly is a large planthopper native to parts of Asia that has become a prominent invasive species in the eastern United States since its first detection in 2014. Despite its name, it is not a true fly but a plant-feeding insect closely related to leafhoppers and cicadas, using specialized mouthparts to pierce plant tissue and feed on sap.

Its eye-catching appearance, gray forewings with black spots at rest opening to reveal vivid red-and-black hindwings in flight, has made it one of the most recognizable and widely publicized invasive insects in recent years. It feeds on a broad range of woody and agricultural plants, showing a strong preference for the invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), and also readily attacks grapevines, fruit trees, and hardwoods.

Spotted lanternflies excrete large amounts of sugary honeydew while feeding in aggregations, which can coat plants, surfaces, and vehicles beneath infested trees and promote the growth of sooty mold, making heavy infestations obvious even from a distance.

• Adult forewings gray to tan with bold black spots near the base and a black net-like pattern toward the tip
• Hindwings bright red at the base with black spots, a white band, and black tips, visible mainly in flight or when wings are spread
• Body and legs mostly black with a yellow abdomen visible on the underside
• Adults roughly 1 in (25 mm) long with a wingspan up to about 2 in (50 mm)
• Nymphs progress from black with white spots (early instars) to black-and-red with white spots (final instar) before the winged adult stage
• Lookalike: other large planthoppers and moths, but the specific spotted forewing pattern and red hindwings are distinctive once seen

Native to China and parts of Southeast Asia, the spotted lanternfly has become established as an invasive species in the eastern United States, spreading through several states since its initial detection in Pennsylvania. It favors tree-of-heaven but is found on a wide variety of hardwood trees, grapevines, and other woody plants in forests, vineyards, orchards, and urban and suburban landscapes, typically most visible from midsummer through fall when adults are active.

Nymphs and adults feed in aggregations by piercing stems, trunks, and leaves to draw sap, often congregating in large numbers on favored host trees such as tree-of-heaven and grapevines. Feeding excretes copious honeydew, a sugary liquid that attracts other insects such as wasps and ants and promotes sooty mold growth on plants and surfaces below. Adults are strong jumpers and capable but somewhat clumsy fliers, more often hopping or gliding short distances than sustaining long flight; as an invasive species it lacks the natural predator and parasite controls found in its native range.

Development is gradual (incomplete) metamorphosis with one generation per year in most of its invaded range. Eggs are laid in fall in rows covered with a gray, mud-like coating on tree bark, stones, or other flat surfaces, and overwinter through the cold months. Nymphs hatch in spring and pass through four instars, molting and changing color and pattern as they grow, before becoming winged adults in mid- to late summer that mate and lay the next generation of overwintering eggs in autumn.