A highly invasive insect known for damaging ecosystems has reached the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, which has worried the Midwestern experts studying the bug.
What's happening?
According to WDET, the Environmental Interpretive Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn confirmed the presence of the spotted lanternfly in October after staff identified the sap-sucking insect in its natural areas.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the spotted lanternfly first appeared in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread into more than a dozen states.
Michigan recorded its first confirmed colony in Oakland County in 2022, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reported.
Rick Simek, program and natural areas manager for the EIC, said lanternflies rarely kill mature trees outright, but they do steadily weaken them as populations increase.
"They have been known to kill off the saplings of a couple of native tree species," such as black walnuts and maples, he said.
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The insects also excrete a sugary residue that promotes mold growth and attracts wasps and other pests.
Why is the spread of spotted lanternflies concerning?
Simek said the insect poses a serious threat to fruit-bearing plants, particularly grapes. Penn State Extension stated that spotted lanternflies have a lethal and "strong preference for economically important plants."
"It's the new invasive kid on the block," Simek said. "We're probably going to see them more and more, and then we're all going to find out what their impacts are."
Invasive species such as the spotted lanternfly drive major crop and forest losses and threaten food security. As a study published in the journal PNAS observed, they cost the United States an estimated $40 billion in damages each year.
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Mowing the lawn 🏡 What's being done about spotted lanternflies' spread?
State officials are urging residents to report all sightings and destroy lanternflies and their egg masses, which resemble gray, mud-like smears.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said public vigilance plays a critical role in limiting reproduction and spread, and the university's guidance is to "squish and scrape" the pests on sight.
At the EIC, land managers have removed an invasive plant called the tree of heaven, which is the lanternfly's preferred host, and scientists are working around the clock to ensure the campus does not become a place where the species can spread.
Native species do their part in managing the invasive bugs, too, as birds and bats have begun to eat spotted lanternflies.
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