In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers, and growers were understandably concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research led by Penn State has discovered that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.
In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers, and growers were understandably concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research led by Penn State has discovered that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.
„Since the lanternfly was first introduced to the northeastern U.S., the question has been, ‚How at-risk are our forests?‘ said Kelli Hoover, professor of entomology at Penn State. „So far, we haven’t had a good answer. Our study is the first to look at the long-term impacts of feeding pressure on northeastern hardwoods, and our results suggest that we are unlikely to see big impacts on the growth of trees.“
The findings published in the journal Environmental Entomology on August 29.
To determine the long-term effects of spotted lanternfly (SLF) feeding on hardwood trees, the team built large enclosures containing multiple species of tree, including the insect’s favorite food, the non-native tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), as well as native trees, including silver maple (Acer saccharinum), weeping willow (Salix babylonica) and river birch (Betula nigra).
