Spotted lantern stages: what you need to know

Spotted Lantern is a voracious crop insect with an interesting and complex life cycle. An adult lantern fly can be identified by two pairs of speckled wings that allow it to travel long distances (although it actually jumps more than flies). Due to its appearance, this insect is often mistaken for a moth. However, the name itself is a bit misleading: it is not a fly at all (it is more related to cicadas, leafhoppers and aphids), and it does not have lantern-like glowing parts. It actually belongs to a group of insects called leafhoppers.

The lantern was originally native to the southern regions of China, Taiwan and Vietnam, but has since been introduced to Japan, South Korea and the United States, where it destroys native plants and causes some chaos. While its favorite host plant in its natural habitat is the Chinese sumac or sky tree, the lantern is known as the all-rounder. He loves to feed on the sap of over 70 species of plants, including cherry trees, apple trees, birches, maples, poplars, vines and lilacs.

The species was first discovered in the United States when it entered Burks County, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia, around 2014 (although its introduction may date from 2012). From there, it quickly spread to parts of New York, Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, and other states in the area.

Lanterns pose a huge problem for various types of gardens and agriculture, damaging and sometimes even completely destroying plants. While they don’t necessarily eat the fruits and leaves, they produce a sticky substance called honeydew as waste that attracts all kinds of pests to the area and promotes mold growth. Unfortunately, there are few natural predators in the United States that can stop their spread, thanks in part to their bad taste and toxin.

Because they are considered invasive, state and federal governments have tried to limit their spread. For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture recommends reporting signs of lantern fly activity as soon as possible before they grow out of control. Many states also encourage people to kill them on the spot.

Egg stage

An adult flashlight fly is easy to spot if you know what signs to look for. But the problem is that as an adult he spends only a small part of his life. The spotted lantern actually undergoes a complex transformation over several stages of life. It takes about a year to form one generation. This process usually starts at some point between September and November.

After mating, the female lays large batches or rows of 20 to 60 eggs on smooth bark, fence posts, stones, furniture or metal surfaces. In ideal conditions, one tree can sometimes contain up to 200 eggs at a time. The female then covers the eggs with a white sticky substance, which turns pink-gray as it dries; this substance is often mistaken for dirt or seed pods.

However, instead of hatching immediately, the eggs will spend the entire winter in a state of stunted development, protected from external factors by the walls of the egg. They can survive extremely cold temperatures well below freezing before they die. The parents play no role in the care of the young, but the eggs are camouflaged on wooden or metal surfaces to protect them from hungry predators.

Nymph Stages

When the eggs finally hatch around May or June (60% to 90% of them will survive to this point), the spotted lantern will begin the first of the four stages of a nymph’s life. Age is a technical term for the stages of life between molts when an insect sheds its skin and changes into a new form. During the first instar, the spotted lanternfly is about a quarter of an inch long; The shape of the insect leads many people to mistake it for a tick, but the white patches covering the black body are an important clue to its identification.

This first nymph is an excellent climber from the moment of hatching from an egg. If it falls from a tree due to strong winds or uneven bark, it may climb up the trunk again. Nymphs usually tolerate each other’s presence, but if there are too many nymphs nearby who eat from the same food source, then one can challenge the other by raising their front limbs, in which case they will either run away or try to saddle their opponent.

Both the second and third age stages are quite similar to the first in both appearance and behavior, except that they gradually grow in size with each new stage. Towards the end of the third molt, which occurs sometime between July and September, the fourth instar takes on a more characteristic appearance; he has a red upper body with white spots, and black legs and markings. At this point, it can reach three-quarters of an inch in length.

Adult stage

An adult spotted lantern, which may appear as early as July or September, is about an inch long. It is characterized by a black head and legs, a wide abdomen with yellow and brown stripes, and short orange tendrils with needle-like tips. Females have an additional red tip at the end of the abdomen.

However, the easiest way to identify them is with two pairs of wings. These wings, with a pink or brown surface, are adorned with black spots about two-thirds of their length, followed by a striped or brick pattern towards the end. When the insect is resting, the wings are folded against the body; the upper wings mostly cover the lower wings. When the insect is about to jump or take off, it spreads all four wings so that it almost looks like a moth.

Dispersion and mating

At some point after hatching, the spotted lantern leaves its place of birth, usually traveling anywhere from 3 to 5 miles in its life. Even undeveloped nymphs have powerful hind legs that help them jump or climb, but adults are especially mobile due to their large wings. They have a very strong habit of clinging to a car by flying through windows or jumping into the back of a truck. Egg masses are also sometimes accidentally carried over, especially on firewood, motor homes or recreational vehicles. Spotted lantern will only spend a few months of its adult life.

The main purpose of the adult phase is reproduction. Unfortunately, there is little information about the mating behavior of the lantern, other than the fact that it occurs every year in the fall at the same time. He will only have one chance to mate, because the adult fireflies will die in a short time, allowing the next generation to flourish.