--- title: Why Scientists Want You to Kill Spotted Lanternflies description: Sen. Schumer: “We need to stomp out this bug before it spreads, otherwise our farmers and local businesses could face millions in damage." canonical: https://time.com/6207401/why-kill-spotted-lanternfly/ author: Simmone Shah article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2022-08-19T14:13:49.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:42:38.631Z article:section: Science og:title: Why Scientists Want You to Kill Spotted Lanternflies og:description: “We need to stomp out this bug before it spreads, otherwise our farmers ... could face millions in damage" og:url: https://time.com/6207401/why-kill-spotted-lanternfly/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04c3a7e9bfc1172f/698a34c6096a94f70e6acdf1/spotted-lanternfly-invasive-pest-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Spotted Lanternfly in Jersey City, New Jersey og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why Scientists Want You to Kill Spotted Lanternflies twitter:description: “We need to stomp out this bug before it spreads, otherwise our farmers ... could face millions in damage" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt04c3a7e9bfc1172f/698a34c6096a94f70e6acdf1/spotted-lanternfly-invasive-pest-insect.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Scientists Want You to Kill Spotted Lanternflies > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-futureproof-2026q3/newsletters?i=50960e61-bcf4-477a-8a75-fa13023bd1a1&cr=time-nl-futureproof-2026q3-v1) ## Video: These Virus Hunters Want to Stop Future Pandemic Threats [Watch (HLS stream): These Virus Hunters Want to Stop Future Pandemic Threats](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/cuwedOEw.m3u8) (5:30)  _Published 2022-07-29. Abbot’s Pandemic Defense Coalition is the first public-private effort led by industry to bring scientists around the world together to track current and emerging pathogens. The team is collecting virus samples from all over the world, searching for mutations, and so far they managed to alert the world to several that have swept the globe—including Gamma from a lab in Brazil and Omicron from a lab in South Africa._  by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Reporter Aug 19, 2022 2:13 PM UTC  An invasive spotted lanternfly walks along a sidewalk on Aug. 6, 2022, in Jersey City, New Jersey. An invasive spotted lanternfly walks along a sidewalk on Aug. 6, 2022, in Jersey City, New Jersey. Photo by Gary Hershorn—Getty Images  by [Simmone Shah](https://time.com/author/simmone-shah/)  ## Simmone Shah Reporter Aug 19, 2022 2:13 PM UTC As invasive spotted lanternflies continue moving through the United States, local agricultural agencies have launched “If you see it, kill it” campaigns urging people to kill the bugs in order to prevent any further spread across the U.S. In response to the proliferating insect, earlier this week Senator Chuck Schumer (D., NY) called for $22 million more in funding for a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that targets invasive species; these are species that aren’t native to an area and can quickly become overpopulated, wreaking havoc on their new environment. “We need to stomp out this bug before it spreads, otherwise our farmers and local businesses could face millions in damage and an unmanageable swarm,” he said [in a statement. ](https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-reveals-with-pockets-of-upstate-new-york-now-infested-with-the-invasive-spotted-lanternfly-finger-lakes-wineries-tourism-and-upstate-crops-at-risk-senator-calls-on-usda-to-deploy-fed-funds-he-already-secured-to-nys-for-education%5Feradication-announces-additional-22m-push-via-upcoming-budget-#:~:text=We%20need%20to%20stomp%20out,said%20U.S.%20Senator%20Charles%20Schumer.) The spotted lanternfly is neither a moth nor a fly but a “planthopper.” It’s part of the same category of insects to which cicadas and aphids belong. About an inch long, their black-spotted, light-brown wings make them easy to find. Here’s what to know about the spotted lanternfly spread and why scientists are encouraging people to kill any they might see. ## **Spotted lanternflies are spreading across the country** --- ### More from TIME --- Native to parts of southeast Asia, the spotted lanternfly was first spotted in the U.S. in 2014, in Berks County, Pa., but not much was known about its potential impact at the time. “We knew very little about it in 2014, because it wasn’t an invasive pest in its home territory, where there’s a suite of other insects that feed upon it and keep its population in check,” says Brian Eshenaur, who works with the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. Unlike in its native country, there are no spotted lanternfly predators in the U.S.—though scientists have been experimenting with importing tiny wasps native to China to enlist in the fight. The spotted lanternfly’s spread was slow at first. In 2018, when Eshenaur first joined the team monitoring the spotted lanternfly, they only updated their map two or three times a year. “Now we update it a couple times a week,” he says as the increasing spotted lanternfly population spreads to new areas. The insect has now been spotted across the Northeast and Midwest. “Last summer was an inflection point when the numbers started going way up.”  A map showing which states the invasive spotted lanternfly has spread to, put together by the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. Cornell IPM Program, Jody Benedict The map’s latest update on Aug. 8 showed spotted lanternfly sightings in 13 states, including New York, Ohio, and Virginia**,** but Eshenaur notes that a handful of other states have found dead individual insects but are not known to have infestations. ## **Why experts are encouraging people to kill spotted lanternflies** The spotted lanternfly doesn’t cause any harm to humans or animals—it doesn’t bite, sting, or contain venom. But it’s a danger to more than 100 trees and plants, and can kill grapevines and the tree of heaven, a fast-growing deciduous tree native to China that is also an invasive species. “They insert their straw-like beaks into the plant and feed on the sap,” says Julie Urban, associate professor at Penn State’s entomology department. “It could potentially kill other plants, but it’s more of a stressor.” The insects damage plants and trees, causing them to leak sap from the wounds and leave behind a sticky honeydew that can lead to the growth of sooty mold, a fungal disease. The spotted lanternfly has a preference for grapevines, maple trees, and black walnut, all of which are vital to the country’s grape, orchard, and logging industries. Experts worry about the economic toll of the spotted lanternfly but say more research is needed to better understand its impact. Experts say that having people kill lanternflies is a short term strategy as scientists continue to develop long-term, sustainable solutions. But with thousands of insects already in the environment, will squashing a few bugs have any impact? Eshenaur says that small efforts can play a big part in reducing the population—especially on a local scale. “One female spotted lanternfly can lay up to 40 egg masses,” he says. “Each one we step on has the potential of killing 40 with it.” At the end of the day, though, spotted lanternflies are here to stay, and all efforts are on slowing down the insects’ reach rather than getting rid of them completely. “We don’t feel as though eradication is an option for this,” says Eshenaur. “It’s a pest we’ll learn to live with. We do hope to slow the spread to give us more time to learn about this.” So while the insect may not be eradicated through the stomping of many feet, Urban adds that these efforts still help researchers. “People get very frustrated with invasive species, but anything they can do helps researchers buy time as we come up with better solutions,” she says. “It’s not futile.” ## **How to best get rid of spotted lanternflies** Spotted lanternflies can’t fly very far on their own, but have managed to spread by hitching rides with humans and vehicles, which is why Urban says it’s important to be vigilant about your surroundings and kill the insects or any egg masses if you see them. “If you don’t kill it, you’ll carry it,” she says. “They’re not great fliers, but they’re constantly moving.” If you see a spotted lanternfly, report the sighting to local agricultural agencies. Urban notes that Penn State has published a [guide](https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-guide) filled with different ways to trap them—ranging from sticky bands to circle traps—but says there’s nothing wrong with a simple stomp. Just make sure to approach the insects from the top, she says: “If they’re going to try to escape from you, they’re going to jump up.” And if the thought of bug guts isn’t appealing, Urban says there’s another option. “You can always collect it in your coffee cup and stick it in the freezer to knock it out fast.” ## Transcript Finding a new virus or different strains of an existing one is like searching for a needle in a haystack. And when the haystack is, as big as the planet, it takes a really good microscope and a large coordinate a team. here is a scientist to dreams of the pandemics were living with like stars Cove to or covid-19. And that's where we're trying to understand what could potentially become the next pandemic in the future for the painful. Few years that we've all lived through this another pandemic. So we need to do to learn the lessons and not reinvent the wheel. After March of 2020 and wave after wave of new variants of covid-19, researchers realize they needed a better way to stay ahead of a virus that doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon, Abbott's. Pandemic defense Coalition, is the first public-private effort led by industry to bring scientist together to track current and emerging pathogens. The team is collecting virus samples from all over the world and searching for mutations so far they managed to alert the world to several that have Globe including gamma from a lab in Brazil and Omicron from a lab in South Africa. The whole process start to finish begins with a collaborator in a site that collecting samples from people who've been tested for covid and once they get a result, I want to know what strain was present in the sample after an inactivation step. We take the sample itself and remove everything else about the sample of stuff. For the nucleic acid, which is where the Genome of the material that we can use to either determine how much is there a virus, or we can use that material to the sequence and determine the coronavirus is constantly mutating, but not all of its changes are important. One of the most difficult aspects of staying ahead of the virus is figuring out which of these could become a threat to Public Health. The virus is in charge here. It's still surprising us. Abbott's. Pandemic defense Coalition is a network of experts in infectious disease, genetic sequencing, phylogenetics and epidemiology they have more than a dozen Partners. On five continents, who work to collect samples, test them, and share the data among themselves and with other public health, and political leaders around the world. Researchers say the data collected from sequencing can help them to ensure that tests for detecting the virus continue to work. So people will know when they are infected. Even with newer variance and take proper safety measures like isolating and wearing masks to buy having a network eyes in the field boots on the ground that will spot the trans. Identify the cases enable us in real time to share information, sequence, samples. And also. Rebuild diagnostic test that can then be distributed background or seen something in South Paulo are we also seeing it in Thailand? That type of information is critical to have quickly so that different countries can prepare and respond. We're building this coke capability and capacity at our partner sites around the world as it is limited and need worshipping of samples. That information is shared through the cloud, excetera, as of November 2021 Abbott's. Pandemic defense Coalition has analyzed over 1.4 million sequences from 63 different variants and it's clear they won't be done anytime soon. And silently, once we have all that amount of data, we don't have a pipeline of five, a Matic tools that can quickly identify if maybe there's just a Test for it or maybe there's something that's completely novel. And that's where diagnostic tests are really important early on. As we have Dal, you ate that and help Public Health responses accordingly. This is one of the main focuses of the Abbot pandemic defense Coalition, is to democratize the knowledge and the expertise that we've developed over the decades here, to our partners, around the world to build the next generation of virologist. A virus Hunter is an epidemiologist. I think that's critical preventing the next. 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