Spotted Lanternfly

Hardwood forests, orchards, vineyards, residential areas, and urban green spaces. Native to parts of China, Vietnam, and Taiwan, and widely invasive in eastern North America.

Sucking insect that feeds on plant sap from over 70 host plant species, with a strong preference for the Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), as well as grapevines, maples, walnuts, and fruit trees.

Planthopper that moves primarily by jumping and short flights rather than long-distance flying. Adults emerge in mid-to-late summer, mate, and lay mud-like egg masses on flat surfaces such as tree bark, rocks, and outdoor structures before dying off in winter.

Poses a major threat to agricultural industries, particularly vineyards, orchards, and timber, by weakening host plants through sap feeding and encouraging soot mold growth from excreted honeydew. They do not bite or sting humans or pets, but they are considered a destructive, highly invasive species in introduced regions.