With New Infestation, MA Officials Warn Of Spotted Lanternfly Threat

MASSACHUSETTS — A destructive pest has grabbed a foothold in another Massachusetts city, the third confirmed spotted lanternfly infestation in the state since September 2021.

State agricultural officials this week confirmed a spotted lanternfly infestation in Springfield. Infestations had previously been confirmed in Fitchburg and Shrewsbury.

The discovery in Springfield prompted another warning to residents to be on the lookout for spotted lantern flies, which can travel on shrubs and other plants sold at local nurseries. The bugs can also travel into the state on vehicles, putting cities with high industrial activity at special risk.

The species especially likes trees of heaven, grape vines and walnut trees. They have already caused wider infestations in nearby states including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

"Urban and industrial areas often harbor large populations of the spotted lanternfly’s preferred host plant, tree-of-heaven," the state Department of Agricultural Resources said in a bulletin on Tuesday.

Spotted lantern flies, originally found across Asia, have been moving into the U.S. in recent years, devastating native plants, trees and crops in the process. In Pennsylvania, officials estimate the pest could cost the agriculture industry some $325 million.

Sightings of the bug, but not full infestations, have been confirmed in more than two dozen cities and towns across Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Agriculture:

• Norton
• Sturbridge
• Milford
• Northborough
• Norwood
• Sharon
• Wrentham
• Sudbury
• Boston
• Concord
• Leominster
• Sterling
• Billerica
• Chelmsford
• Woburn
• Winchester
• Melrose
• Townsend
• Ipswich
• Middleborough
• Marshfield
• Dartmouth
• Ludlow
• Conway
• Hadley
• Great Barrington