As well known that it's good for US farmers that global trade, while more and more insects come to US which can effect crops yields even if farmers used the anti insect net. The pest that most affects yields is spotted lanternfly.
The spotted lanternfly is a newer immigrant which showed up in Pennsylvania in 2014, and last year it attacked a large range of crops, from grapes to alfalfa. It was also spotted in corn and soybean fields. Spotted lanternfly migration abilities have Midwestern entomologists on high alert.
Spotted lanternfly is an excellent traveler. No one knows for sure how it migrated to Pennsylvania from Asia, in part because the possibilities are endless.
The lanternfly prefers the tree of heaven, a fellow invasive species, but it's not picky. Adults can lay eggs on car bumpers, truck grills, railroad cars -- name a mode of transportation with flat surfaces, and it will work, said Kevin Rice, an entomologist with the University of Missouri, who issued an alert on the insect to growers in his state. So that makes the likelihood of it showing up anywhere in the country extremely high.
Because the lanternfly feeds on 70 different crops and plants, the USDA is taking the threat seriously. In February, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue made $17.5 million in emergency funding available to stop the pest's spread in Pennsylvania, one of the methods is that widely used agriculture ground cover where it has reached 13 counties and caused damage to stone fruits, grapes, and residential properties.
The pest was also spotted in row crop fields, said Shannon Powers, deputy communications director for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. The farmer reported 30% loss of his alfalfa crop and attributed it to Spotted Lanternfly. The farmer also documented the pest's presence in corn and soybean fields. The Department of Agriculture wasn't able to confirm the damage because the fields were harvested before they could be inspected. The lanternfly pierces plants and sucks out nutrients, but its greatest damage comes from the sticky honeydew it excretes, which covers plants and attracts molds, Estes said.
Entomologists and state agriculture officials are urging everyone to be on the lookout for the pest. Its egg masses are well-disguised -- they look like dollops of gray mud smeared on trees or other flat surfaces. When they hatch, tiny black-and-white nymphs crawl out. As they grow, they become larger and turn bright red with spots. At this time of year, the lanternfly will be in nymph form; in late July and August, they will take their final adult form.
If you find one, contact your local Extension office or department of agriculture. The insect is a weak flyer, but an excellent jumper, Rice noted. If possible, collect it in a container filled with alcohol to preserve it. But be careful -- SUGRAND suspects the pest might release cantharidin, the same toxic chemical produced by blister beetles.
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