It’s Here!

Spotted lanternfly was found on Friday August 10 on a commercial Hunterdon County fruit and vegetable farm. The insect was found in a Tree of Heaven being used as a trap tree with a plastic catch basin placed around the base of the tree, and the first 5-6 feet of the trunk sprayed with dinotefuran to kill any insects that land on the tree. The dead insects were supposed to fall into the catch basin. They did not. The find was made by looking up into the foliage and seeing the adult stage. To our knowledge this is the first sighting of this insect on a commercial farm in NJ. Growers should be particularly aware of any possible activity in trees of heaven that border cultivated plantings. These trees are common in poor and disturbed soil. This capture was made from trees on a hillside that line the border of a powerline which runs through the farm. With the amount of spraying that normally goes on in tree fruit, it is not likely that this insect will cause a major problem at this time of the season. However, if these insects are found on trees in close proximity to grapes it can be more problematic. See the July 18 Plant and Pest for an article by Anne Nielsen here https://plant-pest-advisory.rutgers.edu/?s=spotted+lanternfly

Original link