![]() ![]() Its straw-shaped mouth "causes a lot of damage to certain plants, particularly grapes, which is one of the reasons we’re concerned both for wild grapes here in Massachusetts and also for grape growers and vineyards here in the state." The spotted lanternfly feeds on plant sap, Orth said. They're larger than many other insects in Massachusetts. Spotted lanternflies are around the size of a quarter, grey with black spots and have wings that are red underneath - that part is visible when they fly. "If you look at a map of every place spotted lanternfly is in the state, you’ll see its pretty much surrounding us in the Northeast area." "The infestations in nearby states are getting worse, and so these sort of hitchhiking incidents are happening more and more frequently," said Jennifer Forman Orth, an environmental biologist with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources who's lately been spending a lot of time discussing the pesky bugs. Some places in the country, like New Jersey, which advertises joining the "Stomp Team", and New York City, have asked residents to kill spotted lanternflies whenever they see the insects. Worcester this month became the fourth to identify an infestation of them. Spotted lanternflies, while not new to the Bay State, are being found in more communities across the commonwealth. Report SLF sightings in West Virginia by collecting a specimen or taking a high quality image and contacting the West Virginia Department of Agriculture at states are considered at risk.Scientists in Massachusetts are closely tracking a growing presence of an invasive insect that's not only harmful to agriculture, but a pest to communities they infest. West Virginia University Extension Service spotted lanternfly information.Report SLF sightings in Virginia and submit a sample (whenever possible) following the directions provided online. ![]()
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