An Ontario resident spotted the invasive spotted lanternfly in St. Catharines in April, sparking fears that the creature's presence could decimate Canada's agricultural industries.
According to the CBC, Aidan Dagg, a plant nursery inspector, came across a dead spotted lanternfly after receiving a shipment of planting pots from Pennsylvania.
Dagg immediately uploaded a picture of the invasive bug to the wildlife identification tool iNaturalist before alerting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
The CFIA sent inspectors the same day to investigate, and when they arrived, they found another 30 dead lanternflies.
Luckily, according to the CFIA and the Canadian government, the species has not established a population in the country, but it still "poses a significant threat to the grape, tree fruit, wine, and ornamental nursery industries" and can "feed on more than 100 species of trees and plants."
Diana Mooij, a CFIA employee, explained to Global News that the invasive lanternflies can cause "yield losses … up to 90% and, even in extreme cases, there have been death of vines."
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Norman Beal, who serves as president of the Peninsula Ridge Estates Winery and chairs the Ontario Craft Wineries board, told the publication that the insects "can have a devastating impact."
"They can … become a major, major problem to vineyard mortality," he added.
Spotted lanternflies have spread across more than 20 U.S. states and have not shown signs of slowing down. As Amanda Roe, a scientist for Natural Resources Canada, told CBC, "They're weak flyers across the Great Lakes, but they're amazing hitchhikers."
The CFIA has requested that if any more Canadians spot what they believe to be spotted lanternflies, they should take a photo, capture the insect, and report it to the CFIA.
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The agency also noted that it is important to vigilantly check your camping gear or equipment if you've recently visited one of the states where the pests have taken hold to ensure that you're not accidentally helping them spread to new territory.
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