An adult spotted lanternfly resting on a stem.
Credit: © Jay Ondreicka, Shutterstock

What is red and black and spotted all over? The spotted lanternfly! While these insects look like harmless butterflies or moths, they are damaging multitudes of trees. They have become an invasive pest in the United States.

What is an invasive species? Invasive species are animals, plants, and other living things that spread rapidly in new environments where there are few or no natural controls on their growth. They crowd out native species, putting them at risk of extinction. They also cause billions of dollars in damage each year to agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and public health.

The spotted lanternfly is native to eastern Asia, including China, India, and Vietnam. The first spotted lanternfly detected in the United States was in Pennsylvania in 2014. The insect’s eggs were probably brought to the country in overseas shipments. People have unintentionally transported egg masses on vehicles, crops, and other items, spreading spotted lanternflies to more places in the United States.

Well, what is the spotted lanternfly? The spotted lanternfly is a type of insect called a planthopper. It feeds on a variety of host plants.

Adult spotted lanternflies grow up to 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) long. The adult has forewings that are gray with black spots. The hind wings are red with black spots and partly black and white on the ends. The insect’s abdomen is yellow with black bands. Nymphs (young) are 1/4 inch (0.6 centimeters) to 1/2 inch (1.4 centimeters) long. Nymphs are black with white spots, developing red patches as they mature.

Nymphs hatch in May and jump from plant to plant before developing wings. The lanternfly molts to its mature form in July. Adults can only fly short distances. Adult spotted lanternflies die with the first few freezes of winter. The eggs of the lanternfly survive the winter and hatch in late spring.

Spotted lanternfly egg masses on a tree in spring in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Credit: © Amy Lutz, Shutterstock

Female spotted lanternflies attach egg masses in rows on tree bark and various other surfaces from September through December. They cover the egg masses with a waxy, mudlike secretion. They can lay two egg masses a year, each containing 30 to 50 eggs.

How are these little insects killing trees? The spotted lanternfly has a piercing-sucking mouthpart that enables it to feed on the sap of trees and plants. Spotted lanternflies most commonly feed on the Ailanthus, also called the tree of heaven. However, they feed on over 70 different plant species. While feeding, the lanternfly secretes a sugary substance called honeydew. This secretion attracts other insects to the tree and creates an ideal environment for a fungus called sooty mold to grow. The sooty mold can cause a plant to rot, killing trees and reducing crops. The spotted lanternfly poses a threat to apple and grape crops as well as commercial logging in the United States.

To combat the further spread of the insects, experts recommend removing egg masses from trees. They also advise checking such items as vehicles, camping gear, firewood, building materials, and outdoor furniture for insects and egg masses before moving them.

December 31, 2015

This week, thousands of visitors flocked to the Mount Lofty Botanic Garden in Crafers, South Australia (near Adelaide), to experience a rare, unpleasant phenomenon. For 10 years, the garden has been growing a titan arum—a large, flowering plant known for producing a vile odor that has been likened to that of rotting fish. Because of this stench, which attracts insects to pollinate the plant’s flowers, the titan arum is sometimes called a carrion flower or corpse flower. The 6.5-foot (2-meter) plant, named Indah, began opening for the first time on Monday.

The titan arum has the largest inflorescence (cluster of blossoms) of any flower in the world. The inflorescence can reach more than 10 feet (3 meters) tall. The plant gives off the odor of rotting fish to attract insects. These insects carry the plant’s pollen. This photograph shows a titan arum in bloom at Kew Gardens at the Royal Botanical Gardens in London. The titan arum is native to Sumatra. AP Photo

The titan arum is native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It grows from a bulblike underground stem that can weigh more than 200 pounds (90 kilograms). After many years of growth, the plant is ready to flower. At that time, it grows a single large spike enclosed in a structure known as a spathe. Eventually, the spathe unfolds and opens, forming a purple-red skirt around the base of the plant. A large stalk called the spadix rises from the open spathe. Pink to red female flowers ring the bottom of the spadix. Yellowish-white male flowers grow just above the female flowers.

The spike usually remains open for only a few days. During this time, the plant produces its legendary odor to attract pollinating insects that normally feed on rotting flesh and animal waste. After the plant blooms, the spadix collapses and the spathe falls off. The plant then restarts its cycle, lying dormant for years before blooming again.

Many botanic gardens around the world grow titan arum plants. Visitors flock to the gardens to see and smell the plants when they bloom. In July of this year, a specimen named Tiny drew visitors to the Cambridge University Botanic Garden in Cambridge, England. In September, thousands of people flocked to the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, Illinois, to experience the sights and smells of a titan arum named Alice.

Other World Book articles: 

• Arum
• Skunk cabbage
• Botany (1931) – A Back in Time article