Spotted Lanternfly In Maryland

A few years before we closed Behnke’s, we were given a heads-up and posted photos of the Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive insect from Southeast Asia. I had forgotten about them till the other day when my granddaughter, Zoe, found one. She has always been interested in insects, and this was one she had never seen before.

We  knew we had to kill this insect right away, but before I could do that, I had to explain why to Zoe. This is a girl who picks up the worms in the driveway to carefully place them in the grass after rain. Luckily, she understood that there are good insects and bad ones. I was hopeful that this was one-and-done, but just yesterday, we found a dead one in a spiderweb, and my father-in-law told me that they, too, had found one. So I went to the Maryland Department of Agriculture and reported it. Heads up, they ask for a photo when you report seeing one.

I have been seeing and sharing on social media about this insect, and sadly, it appears they are popping up all over Maryland. First spotted in 2014 in Pennsylvania, they appeared in Maryland in 2018.

Spotted lanternflies are currently depositing eggs from now until December. If you come across them, please eliminate these eggs before they hatch next spring. Each egg mass typically contains 30 to 50 eggs and is concealed beneath a mud-like gray substance that gradually develops cracks, resembling mortar. You can often discover these eggs on trees, fences, vehicles, and outdoor furnishings. Penn State Extension Office has instructions on scraping and getting rid of the eggs.