Bridgeport’s Sustainability Office and Parks and Recreation Department released an alert last Friday requesting residents’ help in ridding the city of spotted lanternflies (SLF), an invasive insect that’s harmful to several species of trees, plants and crops.

“The City has received several reports about spotted lanternflies in our parks and community gardens,” read the statement. “The SLF can harm our trees, growing spaces, and urban canopy.”

Spotted lanternflies, known for their distinctive red wings with black polka dots, are indigenous to China and Vietnam but were first spotted in the US in Pennsylvania, in 2014. Since then, the species range has expanded, and the bug was first spotted in Connecticut in 2018. Lanternflies are especially harmful to grapevines, ornamental trees and roses.  

According to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), about 47% of the state’s forest tree population is potentially susceptible to lanternflies. Their attraction to grapevines makes them of particular concern to winemakers, and since their excrement attracts the consumption of bees and impacts honey flavor, it is also of detriment to the state’s honey production and mead industry as well. The state of New York has estimated that lanternflies could cost the state’s economy up to $300 million annually, and Penn State’s College of Agricultural Science has estimated it could cost Pennsylvania up to $324 million annually.

“The spotted lanternfly is a new plant pest to the United States and represents a threat to Connecticut’s environment, residential areas, and agricultural interests, particularly forests, orchards, vineyards, and nurseries,” reads the CAES page on lanternflies. 

Lanternflies negatively impact plants, trees and crops by feeding on them, and excreting a sugary liquid waste that attracts mold and fungi that can further harm the host plant. Thus far, lanternflies are not known to kill any plants outright, aside from grapevines, tree-of-heaven and some tree saplings, but they are considered by the CAES to be a “plant stressor.”

“SLF is a plant stressor that, in combination with other stressors (e.g., disease, weather), can cause significant damage to host plants,” reads a CAES report on lanternflies. “It is possible that after heavy feeding, multiple years of sustained damage, or particularly dry years, SLF may cause significant damage to ornamental and shade trees.”

Thus far, individual lanternflies have been spotted in numerous towns across the state, but are known to have established populations in Fairfield, Litchfield, Hartford, New London and New Haven counties. Residents who see lanternflies are encouraged to kill them, and be on the lookout for lanternfly eggs, which are often found on trees, rocks and other hard surfaces. Those who find eggs are encouraged to dispose of them, either by crushing them directly, applying insecticides, or scraping them into a container filled with rubbing alcohol. The CAES also has a lanternfly reporting form that can be submitted to assist tracking lanternfly populations across the state.

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