Schumer Wants $22M To 'Stomp Out' NY Spotted Lanternfly Invasion

NEW YORK CITY — Sen. Chuck Schumer wants $22 million to help stomp out the spotted lanternfly in New York.

The invasive insect is spreading across the Empire State — including in New York City — and threatens to "suck the life" out of vineyards, agriculture and outdoor tourism spots across the state, Schumer warned in a Sunday news conference.

"We need to stomp out this bug before it spreads, otherwise our farmers and local businesses could face millions in damage and an unmanageable swarm,” he said in a statement.

Schumer pushed for $22 million more in funding for a USDA program that targets invasive species such as the spotted lanternfly. He also highlighted that $1 million out of a $200 million "Speciality Crop Pests" program is already allocated toward fighting the swarming insect.

The money likely will help an ongoing fight, in New York and beyond, to help stop the spotted lanternfly, said Julie Urban, a lanternfly expert with Penn State's Department of Entomology.

New York state officials have a good plan to combat the insect, but ongoing funding is required to carry it out, she said.

“It’s not too late, and if there are additional resources that can help the situation,” she said.

The reddish and black-spotted insect from Asia has spread across the Northeast since it was first documented in Pennsylvania during 2014.

Lanternfly swarms on trees quickly became a common sight in affected areas, and the insect was first detected in New York City two years ago.

But Urban noted the lanternfly's arrival in New York City likely will be more creepy-crawly human nuisance than agricultural disaster, at least for now.

The sap-eating bug appears to infest and feed on all manner of plants and trees, but so far only appears to kill two plants — Tree of Heaven and grape vines — outright, Urban said.

Tree of Heaven, despite its divine name, is viewed by experts as a largely undesirable invasive, so its loss in New York City — where it is plentiful in urban wastes — wouldn't be a disaster. But Urban said the lanternfly's impact on vineyards in Long Island and upstate could be catastrophic if unchecked.

She also said researchers aren't entirely certain the spotted lanternfly won't harm other fruit crops or urban trees, especially if deprived of a major source of food. The insect appears adept — and perhaps reliant — on hopping from plant to plant through its life for food, she said.

One of those other plants could, if push comes to shove, arise as a lanternfly victim, she said.

"Right now, I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” she said.

And even if the spotted lanternfly doesn't harm the city's trees, that doesn't mean its spread won't be a nuisance to city dwellers.

When the bug starts to breed and lay eggs around September, it can completely cover trees and fly in large swarms, Urban said.

This year could the first that New Yorkers get a sense of those swarms, she said.

“You’re in an all-hands-on-deck moment,” she said.

New York City dwellers have reported more than 1,500 sightings of spotted lanternflies so far this year on the iNaturalist website. By the same point last year, there were just over 200 sightings.

But those New York City sightings last year exploded during their breeding season. New Yorkers reported than 900 lanternfly observations between August and mid-October 2021, according to iNaturalist.

The sap-sucking insect's spread — and threat to agricultural areas just outside New York City —prompted city parks officials last to issue a unique kill-on-sight request to city dwellers.

"Harming our city's wildlife is prohibited, but in an effort to slow the spread of this troublesome species, we are putting out a one-time call: if you see a spotted lanternfly, please squish and dispose of this invasive pest," the Parks Department said in a notice.

Stomping lanternflies isn't the only way to stop the bug's spread, Urban emphasized.

She said researchers are looking into a broad range of solutions, including importing wasps from Asia that lay eggs in lanternfly eggs and nymphs.

But all those solutions still require years more of research, she said, so biologists largely are spraying infested trees and scraping lanternfly eggs off of them.

New Yorkers should be on guard, but not freaked out, she said.

"I think that they should know is lanternfly can’t bite people, it can’t hurt people and people shouldn’t be their own worst enemies to trying the kill it with home remedies,” she said.

“Pay attention and if you do see any damage, report it.”