Spotted Lanternfly redux: from here to D.C.

-
Thanks to climate change, we will continue to see far more invasive species at our doorstep, literally.
Maybe you first noticed this little Oriental invader when it hopped onto your backpack and hopped off. Or maybe it flew out of your purse as you reached for the potato salad on your picnic.
The Spotted Lanternfly came over from Asia about a decade ago, has permeated Connecticut fruit trees, walnut trees, orchards, sidewalks, bus stops and especially the Tree-of-Heaven, its preferred host. Although some comment on its good looks, the detritus it leaves behind, a sticky substance coined "honeydew", is less adorable: it will imperil grapevines in particular, with a build-up of black mold; it will weaken fruit trees, limiting ability to complete photosynthesis, and selfishly move on to its next victims.
Dr. Martha Weiss, an entomologist and biology professor at Georgetown, said "they are here to stay". In conversation with her university press, she commented on their beauty while advising folks to find the eggs and crush them. "Finding egg masses in early spring could be a useful way to limit local populations."
As for the popular advice to step on them (as I recently saw a commuter do at the State Street station), Weiss was less optimistic: "I'd say we're well beyond the stomping stage."
Top image: An adult spotted lanternfly in Southeastern Pennsylvania by Walthery in 2019 via Wikimedia Commons Images; Images by author: Second from Top: New Haven, summer 2025; Bottom, a Spotted Lanternfly crawls up an exterior wall in West Falls Church, VA. Aug. 12, 2026

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr. Jane Goodall discusses need to combat climate change especially now, and why our great apes are also at risk during COVID crisis

-
Image
Dr. Jane Goodall, who fits the only definition of "living legend" I know, spoke to the National Press Club during a Youtube interview today. She talked at great length with NPC president Michael Freedman regarding her decades-long work including as a ground-breaking primatologist renowned for research on wild chimpanzees in Tanzania. She made headlines in the 1960s, not only for her ability to communicate with chimps but for being a female doing important scientific work. National Geographic, in 1963, published the first cover story on Goodall and her research,“My Life Among the Wild Chimpanzees”, reaching millions on both sides of the Pond. In "NPC, A Virtual Newsmaker: Jane Goodall ", the British scientist, now a vibrant 86, shared that she supports the next generation of women following in her footsteps but hopes everyone will be careful. If one is researching elephants, for example, be mindful that such work can be dangerous. Remember to respect that a wild a...
Read more

Hantavirus maps and resources Connecticut residents need

-
Image
The National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, or "NETEC", has compiled clinical guidance, preparedness resources, and educational materials related to hantavirus to support healthcare decisions, as reflected on their website. Access the resource library here . As of this post, Saturday, May 15, 2026, the World Health Organization -- of which the U.S. is no longer a part -- states in relation to the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius outbreak: "According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 10 hantavirus cases (eight confirmed and two probable) — including three deaths — have been reported among passengers aboard the cruise ship. WHO currently assesses the global public health risk as low. However, more cases could be reported as ship passengers return home, due to the long quarantine of this disease, notes the WHO director-general, Dr. Tedros Adhanon Ghebreyesus. (WHO Media Briefing , 5/15/26). It has been widely reported that while the risk is co...
Read more

Getting grounded: a rise in green burials

-
Image
After Lawn Love came out with a list of the most popular states for a "green" burial , it gave me pause: just what is a green burial, do I want one, and why hadn't I (Miss Green) ever heard of one? I had always figured cremation to be the greenest - or arguably, GREENER - alternative. I had seen death as bifurcated - I will be burnt or I will be buried. Scratch that, my body. I will be somewhere else, I hope, sipping a Mai Tai with Elvis, my mom and Uncle John. Connecticut is 24th in the nation for green burials, but Massachusetts is an impressive fifth. (Analyses of these figures is on Lawn Love's site.) A green burial, turns out, can take several forms - from choosing a Redwood we like (while alive!) and buying the little plot of earth around it (then buying a plaque to mark our spot) to, more popularly I think, being buried in a green fashion by forgoing embalming fluids or a toxic burial containers in favor of one that is biodegradable. Connecticut has Better Plac...
Read more