Eastern Railroad Discussion > Spotted lantern flies railfans?

We're currently plagued with this nasty varments here in south central PA. These are in the larval stage and are getting ready to suck the life out of our trees. I can't imagine why so many are hanging around the railroad tracks. Maybe they get a thrill when the freights roll by overhead? 

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Are these poisonous?

RC Lundgren
Elgin, TX

sparky52t Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> We're currently plagued with this nasty varments
> here in south central PA. These are in the larval
> stage and are getting ready to suck the life out
> of our trees. I can't imagine why so many are
> hanging around the railroad tracks. Maybe they get
> a thrill when the freights roll by overhead? 

texchief1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Are these poisonous?
>
> RC Lundgren
> Elgin, TX
>
> sparky52t Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > We're currently plagued with this nasty
> varments
> > here in south central PA. These are in the
> larval
> > stage and are getting ready to suck the life
> out
> > of our trees. I can't imagine why so many are
> > hanging around the railroad tracks. Maybe they
> get
> > a thrill when the freights roll by overhead? 

Only to the trees they attack! They present no problems to humans.

Pattenburg Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> texchief1 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Are these poisonous?
> >
> > RC Lundgren
> > Elgin, TX
> >
> > sparky52t Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > We're currently plagued with this nasty
> > varments
> > > here in south central PA. These are in the
> > larval
> > > stage and are getting ready to suck the life
> > out
> > > of our trees. I can't imagine why so many are
> > > hanging around the railroad tracks. Maybe
> they
> > get
> > > a thrill when the freights roll by
> overhead? 
>
> Only to the trees they attack! They present no
> problems to humans.

You wouldn’t think so the way people carry on about them.

Posted from iPhone

Doug Wetherhold
Macungie, PA

If enough trees are harmed, we get harmed too...

More of a threat to grapevines and farm produce than trees. the Emerald Bark Beetles have wiped out almost all the Ash trees. Its a good thing baseball bats are aluminum now. In my garden the second stage Lantern Flies (the red spotted ones) gravitate to the Okra but they just hang around on the plants and I haven't seen any ill effects.
Gonut



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/22 07:50 by Gonut1.

Saw a ton of them on Mack bridge, SW of Allentown PA. As we were wainting for trains, we killed a bunch. The "black" stage is easy to kill. The "red" stage, they hop faster than most people's reflexes. Very hard to kill but we got many eventually.

Are they native or an invasive species?

Victor B.

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> Are they native or an invasive species?
>
Invasive.
 

Their only known natural predator here is the Praying Mantis, which themselves are rare.
Kill a lantern fly whenever you see one. 

They're invasive and they come from China. Unfortunately I'm not aware of any bird or beast who finds them tasty. 

Why is the spotted lanternfly harmful?   The spotted lanternfly causes serious damage including oozing sap, wilting, leaf curling and dieback in trees, vines, crops and many other types of plants. In addition to plant damage, when spotted lanternflies feed, they excrete a sugary substance, called honeydew, that encourages the growth of black sooty mold. 

Sounds like a terrible insect.  Burn em all!!!

quoted from wikipedia...

Here in NJ I carry a spray bottle of vinegar mixed with Dawn dish soap about 4-1 ratio Does the trick nicely they drop almost immediately. Not as prevalent this year as last but we had the 17yr cicada last year which seems to have taken away these guys and fewer tree frogs this year as well. Several trees along the Lehigh line had them last year I sprayed regularly and nothing this year.

Posted from iPhone

Allegedly they arrived from China on a shipment of landscaping stone, probably around 2016. They’ve slowly been expanding their territory since.

The best method to step on them is to come from their front as they jump strait up into your shoe sole.

In addition to Praying Mantis being natural predators, my two beagles do a bang up job with them in my yard!

As others have said they’re mostly harmless except for fruit trees and a few other plants. They seem to gravitate towards the Tree of Heaven which is an invasive species itself.

From what I recall, they don’t attack the plants directly, rather a secretion they leave behind after feeding attracts a mold that will infect and kill the plant.

Dan

Posted from iPhone

Our local Lowe's has a huge stock of spray for them right inside the entry, so they must be in MD as well.

dschlegel Wrote:
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> From what I recall, they don’t attack the plants
> directly, rather a secretion they leave behind
> after feeding attracts a mold that will infect and
> kill the plant.
>
> Dan
>
> Posted from iPhone

No, they do attack plants directly, sucking sap out of the them. You are correct that Tree of Heaven is a preferred host, and when they feed on it, it is said to impart a bitter taste in them to birds who might otherwise eat them. Cardinals, bluejays and catbirds, for example, have been reported to eat them. But I suppose that birds quickly learn not to eat them if they taste bad (as with Monarch butterfly), but where Tree of Heaven is not present, birds will help to limit the SLF population.
GM50



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/22 12:55 by GM50.

We have a caddisfly problem, Fish and Game is planting rainbow trout to handle the larvae issue.

Out 

I've been seeing them in the Aberdeen, Md. area right around the RR tracks for a month or more now. Didn't know what they were until now, and I've been killing them.

The " tree of heaven" is also an invasive species, which came from China. See the link: https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/indiana/stories-in-indiana/journey-with-nature--tree-of-heaven/

More fine gifts from China!