Spotted LanternFly Forum

On January 22, 2020 a forum was held at the Inland Port in northern Warren County regarding the Spotted Lanternfy. Amanda Bly of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Mark Sutphin, Extension Agent for Warren, Clarke, Shenandoah and Page Counties; as well as two landowners from Winchester and Frederick County presented to 30+ county employees and two Warren County supervisors. The Royal Examiner was the sole representative from the press.

The focus on this forum was on getting the word out on how to identify the lanternfly in its four stages and informing businesses and homeowners what to do whey they are found.

The Spotted lanternfly (SLF) was first detected in Frederick County in northern Virginia in January 2018. SLF is native to China, where it has been documented in detail dating as far back as the
12th century. It is also found in India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. SLF was first detected in the U.S. in eastern Pennsylvania in September 2014. By 2017, the range had expanded to 13 Pennsylvania counties and a single county in both Delaware and New York. SLF was detected in New Jersey in 2018. Researchers believe SLF likely arrived from China on shipping materials, possibly two years earlier than when it was first detected.

SLF is highly invasive and can spread rapidly when introduced into new areas. The invasiveness of SLF is attributed to its wide host range (more than 70 host plant species) and a lack of natural native enemies in invaded areas. SLF has overwintered successfully, and its geographical range in the Mid-Atlantic states is expected to expand.

Watch and learn in this exclusive Royal Examiner video: