Spotted Lanternflies Laying Egg Masses In VA: What You Can Do

VIRGINIA — They have survived the heat and rains of summer, along with traps some residents have laid for the pests, and now they're laying eggs in parts of Virginia.

The spotted lanternfly's egg masses will be laid from September through December, a timeframe which gives Virginians a chance to make perhaps the greatest impact in fighting back against the bug.

While the adult spotted lanternfly doesn't survive the winter, the egg masses do before hatching in the spring. They're visible from now through June.

Invasive spotted lanternflies, first discovered eight years ago in Pennsylvania and confirmed in Virginia, can devastate peach and apple trees, along with grapes, hops and other crops. Their favorite plant to feed on is tree of heaven.

The egg masses are about 1 inch in size and contain 30-50 eggs. Eighty to 90 percent of egg masses on trees are found 10 feet above the ground or higher, officials say.

The pest was found in Loudoun County this summer and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service issued a quarantine for impacted Virginia localities to slow the spread of the invasive insect. Originally, the quarantine was issued for Clarke, Frederick, and Warren counties and the city of Winchester; those areas are now considered heavily infested.

In 2022, the quarantine was expanded to the counties of Albemarle, Augusta, Carroll, Page, Prince William, Rockbridge, Rockingham, Shenandoah, and Wythe as well as the cities of Buena Vista, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Lexington, Lynchburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, Staunton and Waynesboro. A quarantine means businesses have to have regulated items leaving the quarantine area inspected to check for spotted lanternflies.

Loudoun County, where spotted lanternflies have been detected, encourages residents to inspect outdoor surroundings like tree trunks, vehicles and lawn furniture and report a photo of spotted lanternflies or egg masses through an online form.

Fairfax County, which is not in the quarantine area and has not reported any sightings, asked residents to look out for spotted lanternflies. Residents are especially encouraged to avoid moving spotted lanternflies when traveling through infested areas. Spotted lanternfly sightings in Fairfax County can be reported to ReportSLF@fairfaxcounty.gov or 703-324-5304.

Egg masses are easy to identify and should be scraped off. Use a putty knife, credit card, or other firm, blunt-edged tool to scrape. A helpful tutorial on this process is here, courtesy of Penn State Extension.

Spotted lanternflies often lay their eggs on flat surfaces, such as tree bark, rocks, lawn furniture, firewood, boats, RVs, pallets or anything left outdoors, which can be transported to new locations.

Freshly laid egg masses have a light-gray, mud-like covering, while older egg masses change in color to a light tan, resembling cracked mud. Hatched egg masses lose the mud-like covering, exposing individual eggs that look similar to seeds.

While the spotted lanternfly's preferred host is the tree-of-heaven, it particularly threatens Virginia's peach, apple, grape, and wine industries. The spotted lanternfly was first detected in Frederick County, Virginia, on Jan. 10, 2018, according to the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.

Spotted lanternflies have a three-stage lifecycle. They’re prolific breeders and lay masses of 30 to 50 eggs in once place. The eggs are covered with a waxy, mud-colored substance called an ootheca that dries and cracks, an effective camouflage. They overwinter as eggs, go through four nymphal development stages (instars) and an adult stage.

The Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences notes that while many photos show them with their wings unfolded, exposing their red-spotted underwings, that only happens when they’re ready to take flight. It’s more common to see adults resting with their black-spotted, pinkish-tan wings folded over their backs. When females are carrying eggs, their abdomens swell to the point they can barely fly.

If you see them, trap them.

New Jersey Patch collaborated with Duke Farms environmental experts to show readers how to make do-it-yourself lanternfly traps. (See the 11-minute step-by-step video below.)

You’ll need:

• 2 plastic 1-gallon milk or water jugs that can be cut with scissors
• 2 one-half-inch thick rubber bands
• 1 22-inch-long piece of 16-gauge metal wire
• 1 24-inch-by-36-inch plastic coated screen, such as a window screen replacement
• 1 2.5-gallon Ziplock bag
• 1 6-inch long piece of all-weather tape
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• All-natural string or twine

Here are more things to know about spotted lanternflies:

Although lanternflies usually do not kill plants, they suck out sugars that significantly weaken their hosts and leave behind massive amounts of honeydew — that is, excrement — which is typical of the true bug order Hemiptera.

The honeydew can attract other insects, including wasps, ants and bees, and also cause a sooty mold to grow on the plant, interfering with its ability to photosynthesize and create the energy it needs to survive and grow.

With reporting from Patch editor Josh Bakan.