Hi there and welcome to e-mail newsletter # 13!

This message goes to my 48 subscribers, with a big Thank you for signing up. If you have not yet explored the OneBeautifulPlanet.org Newsletter archive, check it out. I wrote the first issue in June, 2023.

The Spotted Lanternfly

For every newsletter I feature an animal, plant, or person that has inspired or intrigued me. It is a moment of reflection and gratitude toward life on Earth, meant to find lessons and nurture curiosity. Last week I featured Sylvia Earle and prior weeks included animals, like the praying mantis, sharks, the albatross, and luminaries such as Buckminster Fuller and Ellen MacArthur.

Like many on the US East Coast, I came across the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) a few years ago. Originally from China and Vietnam, the insect surfaced in the US for the first time in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania and has been showing up in other areas ever since.

The spotted lanternfly is a plant hopper and only uses its wings to fly short distances. They can be spread over long distances by people who move infested material or items containing egg masses: they are a hitchhiker. Juvenile spotted lanternflies, known as nymphs, and adults feed on a wide range of crops and plants, including grapes, apples, walnuts, and hardwood trees. They are related to the (very annoying) stink or shield bug.

Identification

Spotted lanternflies lay eggs during September- October that hatch over the winter. In May-June, nymphs slowly emerge, first smaller and less colorful, which can make them challenging to distinguish. They are black with thick white spots, and when they get older, they start developing white spots. As they reach adulthood, they change again in late summer/early fall to their characteristic and colorful appearance, featuring wings adorned with bright red, black, and white spots.

Feeding Behavior

Spotted lanternflies are piercing-sucking insects, feeding on plant sap by inserting specialized mouthparts into the plant tissue. Their feeding habits can weaken and damage host plants, rendering them vulnerable to diseases. That said, researchers continue to study the long-term ecological implications of the spotted lanternfly's presence, including finding a natural predator such as parasitic wasps.

To date, scientists have seen the spotted lanternfly kill only grapevines, tree of heaven, and black walnut saplings. Healthy and established ornamental trees have not been recorded to have died from spotted lanternfly, though branch dieback and plant health decline has been observed, particularly on some of the spotted lanternfly's favorite hosts, including black walnut and maple trees. Additionally, sooty mold, which can grow on large quantities of the pest’s sugary excrement, has been known to kill groundcover plants, particularly immediately below large populations of spotted lanternflies in trees.

Closing Thoughts

Most available information points to the destructive impact of spotted lanternflies on agriculture. In my research I found little mention of natural predators for this insect and how people manage affected trees and plants in the insect’s place of origin in Asia. Also, what seems to be missing is a recognition that “invasive” spotted lanternflies are just another unexpected consequence of expanding world trade and travel, much like global pandemics or humans inadvertently introducing germs to new areas throughout history through exploration. Because they are hitchhikers, spotted lanternflies easily spread over large areas, laying eggs on any hard, outdoor surface, such as cars, trucks, kayaks, wooden boards. everything is connected and context is important: any issue, or solution is incomplete if viewed in isolation.

Far from meaning to pass any judgment, as I am only scratching the surface here and of course I am not even an amateur entomologist, I am closing this weekly note with a picture someone posted on the PA Insects Facebook group a few days ago:

I found this photograph satisfying for a couple of reasons: it is an interaction between another insect featured two weeks ago in newsletter 11, the praying mantis, and it seems to offer an answer to the nature-taking-care-of-nature question, as a non-human predator steps up to take care of the colorful, “invasive” spotted lanternfly.

Sources:

• https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly

• https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-frequently-asked-questions

• https://6abc.com/spotted-lanternflies-parasitic-wasps-university-of-delaware-researchers/13359933/

• USDA, "Spotted Lanternfly," usda.gov/aphis/spotted-lanternfly

• Totally Buggin’ podcast; Season 1, Episode 13, April 2023

Mindset

“Your gentleness shall force more than your force move us to gentleness” - William Shakespeare

In the Works

Over the past week I travelled to Pittsburgh on business (that’s where I saw a lot of spotted lanterflies!!). Similar to my Boston trip a couple of weeks ago, when I inaugurated my bring-your-litter-grabber-with-you approach to traveling, I packed my Waterhaul foldable tool head of my trip. My schedule did not allow me to go pick up litter around my hotel, so with about 20 minutes to spare before my outgoing flight, I managed to quickly pick up litter around the airport entrance.

I have to say it does felt a bit strange to be cleaning up mostly cigarette butts and single-use plastic at 6:30 am from a public area. But at the same time, it was humbling and satisfying. Moments like these are almost spiritual. Aside from the immediate, positive impact on the local area at hand, cleaning up litter is like a personal prayer. It is a reminder that we are in fact part of something much larger, that we should be thankful for all the modern, developed infrastructure that betters our lives, and that it all occurs in nature itself. We are stewards, so in that sense, whether you pick up a trail in the woods, or a public area, it is all part of taking care of our only one, beautiful planet.

This little Pittsburgh small bag cleanup was nothing compared to the half-day one I did later in the week with Spearhead Project Earth on Burlington Island, NJ. I will cover it in detail in my next newsletter. In a nutshell, together with a few other volunteers, we picked up 233 lbs. of mostly recyclable items from this uninhabited island! It really was a great experience so it is worth a more detailed post - stay tuned. If you would like a preview, check out my post and pics on Reddit, Instagram, or Facebook. The Reddit one got more than 2,100 views!

Following these two cleanups, I gained new insights into the tools I used (Waterhaul foldable picked and ArcMate 32 Reacher Pro, respectively) and so I updated my litter grabber review article, with new lessons learned.

If you found this newsletter helpful or interesting, please share with your friends, contacts, and anyone you know who may benefit from following my journey. Let’s gain some knowledge, and take action toward a cleaner, healthier world!

Thank you.

Razvan