A spotted lanternfly, an invasive species, pictured in the oval moments before being properly squashed. Credit: Reegan Davis | Lantern Reporter
Spotted lanternflies are overrunning central Ohio this year. On Ohio State’s campus, these bugs are threatening trees, crops and prompting warnings to kill the invasive bugs on sight.
“The bugs pose no threat to human health, but they are invasive and destroy various crops, especially grapes and apples,” Ellen Klinger, an associate professor in the university’s entomology department, said.
Ashley Leach, an associate professor in fruit and vegetable entomology, explained how the flies have affected plants.
“We see with grape production, and we have seen yield loss as a result of heavy infestations of the spotted lanternfly; we’ve seen signs that we’re getting stressed out plants,” Leach said. “They’ll defoliate quicker. They’ll turn colors quicker. The wine quality, the actual juice we’re getting out of these grapes, is less.”
The pests first arrived in Pennsylvania from Asia, where they were likely transported in a shipment of goods, according to the National Park Service.
Klinger said the spotted lanternflies were first observed on campus in 2023. The entomology department quickly began to gather information on the lanternflies and study their behaviors.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture declared Franklin County an area of quarantine for spotted lanternflies that year, meaning that there is a high population of them, and shipment inspections are required to prevent a larger population spread, according to the ODA website.
Experts strongly encourage anyone who sees them on campus to squash them immediately
“If we’re squashing [adult spotted lanternflies], then we’re reducing the likelihood that that animal is going to lay eggs somewhere if it’s female, or move on to somewhere where it has not previously been,” Leach said.
Experts are also encouraging Ohio State students to ensure that they double-check any traveling items for spotted lanternflies, as they come in and out of Franklin County.
The bugs have been nicknamed “hitchhikers,” meaning that they will hop onto vehicles or train cars and continue to spread their population, according to Klinger.
While these bugs are widespread, students won’t have to deal with them much longer. The adults will die off for the winter. Their egg masses will survive the cold, and the bugs will reappear next spring, Klinger said.
