Spotted lanternflies are invasive, grapevine-eating pests. Are they coming to Erie County?

While folks in the Pittsburgh area have been swatting away spotted lanternflies or dutifully squishing them underfoot, a task force led by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has been keeping an eye out for the invasive species in this corner of the state.

Lanternflies, known to feast on grape vines and hardwood trees, did make a brief appearance in Erie last summer, said Holly Best, an assistant park manager at Presque Isle State Park. Best said three adult lanternflies were reported in Erie, including one in the Frontier neighborhood and one at a marina.

So far this year, none had made a verified appearance until Aug. 4 when one was seen just outside the entrance to Presque Isle. Unlike two of the lanternflies verified last year, this one was alive.

It's identity was confirmed by Best and Megan Luke, a Penn State Extension educator in viticulture and tree fruit at the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center in North East. Both of them have been working with a lanternfly task force run by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

What to do if you see a spotted lanternfly

The Agriculture Department urges residents of northwestern Pennsylvania who encounter a lanternfly to report it online or call 888-422-3358. Best notified the task force about the recent lanternfly sighting.

And the Agriculture Department offer another piece of advice:

"What else? Kill it! Squash it, smash it...just get rid of it. In the fall, these bugs will lay egg masses with 30-50 eggs each. These are called bad bugs for a reason, don't let them take over your county next."

Why should we care?

So what's the big fuss about this gray, red and black bug that measures about an inch long?

A visit to Pittsburgh last summer, where lanternflies descended by the thousands, provides some insight of their ability to overwhelm the landscape. Luke said lanternflies feast on hardwood trees, including the tree of heaven, which is itself an invasive species.

But for the farmers in the Lake Erie grape growing region, home to 42,000 acres of vineyards that stretch along the lake shore through New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, the lanternfly represents a financial threat.

"As of right now, the biggest concern is for the grapes," Luke said. "Grape vines can actually be weakened to the point of demise."

Not only can lanternflies weaken the grape plants by feeding on the vines, "It can cause a decline in fruit quality over time," she said. "It won't always happen overnight, but over time, " you see a major decline and a lot of vine deaths."

There is good news, at least to a point. Well-tested and effective insecticides exist that can control the lanternfly are readily available.

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But they cost money to purchase and take time to apply.

Typically, once harvest is complete, grape growers have a couple of months where they aren't spending time or money to maintain their vineyards, a welcome break in what can be a low-margin business, Luke said.

Lanternflies change that equation.

"With lanternflies, the adult will feed up until the last hard frost," Luke said. "That means you might have two months where you are going to have to apply insecticides or do management that growers never had to do before."

Are more on the way?

Best figures the lanternfly found near Presque Isle likely hitched a ride on a car or RV.

No one can say for sure if the invasive pests will descend on Erie County in large numbers..

"I don't have a crystal ball," Luke said.

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She hints at her conclusion, however, noting that larger populations of lanternflies can be found to the south, east and west.

"I would love to be proven wrong, but I think it's likely we end up with some population in the next few years," she said. "They are in a circle around us."

Best is inclined to agree.

"Pretty much everyone knows they are coming," she said.

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Contact Jim Martin at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Task force keeping watch for arrival of spotted lanternflies in Erie