Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine

On February 28, 2019, the Delaware Department of Agriculture signed Emergency Regulations for Spotted Lanternfly that has enacted a quarantine for this pest. Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicata, is a threat to Delaware and the United States. This insect is a destructive, invasive plant hopper that attacks many hosts including forests, ornamental trees, orchards, hops, and grapes. This insect is detrimental to Delaware’s agricultural industries, the environment, residential areas and has an impact on interstate commerce.

The quarantine is in place to prevent the movement of spotted lanternfly in Delaware and the surrounding states, and to eradicate and control the spotted lanternfly population currently present in the quarantined area. A quarantine over an area found to have spotted lanternfly means that any material or object that could harbor the pest cannot be moved without taking precautions to prevent the spread.

Expanded Quarantine

Compliance with the Quarantine

The quarantine can expand if the pest is determined to have established a population in a previously non-quarantined area. To find out if you’re involved in the quarantine, check our Delaware Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Locator

The spotted lanternfly lays egg masses of 30-50 eggs wherever it chooses, especially on flat surfaces. All other life stages of this insect, from nymphs to adults, can fly, hop, or drop into a vehicle – meaning that this pest can easily be transported to new areas where it can develop an infestation. Primary tools to demonstrate the individuals, organizations, and businesses comply with the quarantine are described in the emergency rule for spotted lanternfly. Intentional movement of spotted lanternfly is expressly prohibited and could result in civil penalties.

What Does the Delaware Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Mean?

For Residents : Compliance can be demonstrated through the use of the Compliance Checklist. Completing this checklist indicates that you inspected and know that no living life stage of spotted lanternfly is present on regulated articles you want to move. The egg masses will not start hatching until April. Now is a great opportunity to look for egg masses and destroy them by scraping them off into a container or zipped bag with alcohol or an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. For more information about spotted lanternfly, download our Delaware Homeowner Spotted Lanternfly and Treatment Fact Sheet.

: Compliance can be demonstrated through the use of the Compliance Checklist. Completing this checklist indicates that you inspected and know that no living life stage of spotted lanternfly is present on regulated articles you want to move. For Businesses, Municipalities, and Government Agencies : Any person conducting business requiring the movement of any regulated item within or from the quarantine area must have a permit. To obtain a permit, a designated individual from an organization must receive training and pass an online test to demonstrate a working knowledge and understanding of the pest and quarantine requirements. Training of other employees, inspection of vehicles and products, and removal of living stages of spotted lanternfly must be completed. The permit demonstrates that you understand how to identify the pest and can ensure the items transported are not carrying the insect. The permit will be issued by the Delaware Department of Agriculture upon successful completion of the spotted lanternfly training and exam.

: Any person conducting business requiring the movement of any regulated item within or from the quarantine area must have a permit.

What is the Spotted Lanternfly?

The spotted lanternfly – a destructive, invasive plant hopper attacks many hosts including grapes, apples, stone fruits, walnut, willow, and tree of heaven – has been confirmed in northern New Castle County. In 2017, Delaware was the second state to have found the insect, which was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014.

The spotted lanternfly is a plant hopper native to China, India, and Vietnam, that belongs to the order Hemiptera, family Fulgoridae.

This insect is a threat to several important commercial crops including grapes, peaches, apples, hops, and timber. State plant health and forestry officials are providing advice to homeowners, businesses, and communities to help identify this pest. Early detection is vital for the protection of Delaware businesses and agriculture.

What Does Spotted Lanternfly Look Like?

The spotted lanternfly adult is 1” long and 1/2” wide at rest. The forewings are grey with black spots, and the hind wings are red with black spots. The head and legs are black, and the abdomen is yellow with broad black bands. Immature stages are small, round, and black with white spots, and develop red patches as they grow.

Officials believe the spotted lanternfly requires feeding on tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima) to reproduce, however, the insect can be found feeding on other plants and trees as well. Egg masses will be laid on the trunk, branches, and limbs of medium to large trees, often in the upper reaches of the canopy. In springtime, nymphs will hatch and move off the trees and search for new hosts, including several agricultural crops, including grapes, apples, and peaches.

Signs and Symptoms

Susceptible tree species – such as tree of heaven, walnut, and willow – might develop weeping wounds, leaving a greyish or black trail along the trunk. The spotted lanternfly feeds through the bark using a piercing-sucking mouthpart tapped into the plant like a straw. When it feeds, it excretes honeydew, or a sugary water on and around it’s feeding site. This encourages the growth of black sooty mold, which is not harmful to humans, but can damage plants and make outside recreation areas unusable. This sap will attract other insects to feed, notably wasps and ants.

Branch dieback, wilting and plant death is a common symptom of heavy spotted lanternfly feedings.

In late fall, adults will lay egg masses on host trees and nearby smooth surfaces like stone, outdoor furniture, vehicles, and structures. Newly laid egg masses have a grey mud-like covering. Egg masses that have not been covered all the way, are close to hatching, or have already hatched will have a segmented look.

#HitchHikerBug

The spotted lanternfly is a very distinct insect at both the nymph and adult phases. The egg masses can be hard to spot making it easy to transport them on vehicles and other outdoor items.

Therefore, it is important for Delawareans and visitors to inspect their vehicles and anything they may be transporting, including trailers, stone, metal, or anything that has spent time outdoors and remove and destroy any egg masses attached.

Remember, completing a Compliance Checklist and bringing it with you indicates that you inspected and know that no living life stage of spotted lanternfly is present on regulated articles you want to move.

How Can You Help?

If you find a spotted lanternfly, there are several ways you can help us stop the #HitchHikerBug:

Take a picture: With the GPS function turned on your smartphone or a camera with GPS, take a photograph of any life stage (including egg masses). Upload your photograph to Facebook or Instagram, using the hashtag #HitchHikerBug. If you don’t have GPS capabilities and/or access to social media, submit the photograph via email to HitchHikerBug@delaware.gov and include your name, contact information, and the address or georeference of where the photo was taken. Capture or Destroy: Positively identified spotted lanternfly should be destroyed, whenever possible, with registered insecticides and discarded. Collect suspected specimens of any life stage found outside the quarantine area. Place in a vial or plastic zip-lock bag with the name and contact of the collector. Submit the specimen to the Delaware Department of Agriculture Spotted Lanternfly Program for verification. Efforts to identify and destroy spotted lanternfly will help your property and community. Report a site: If you can’t take a specimen or photograph, send an email to HitchHikerBug@delaware.gov, submit using this form or call (302) 698-4632 with a message detailing the location of the sighting and your contact information.

What has Delaware been Doing to Guard Against Spotted Lanternfly?

Delaware has been working to monitor for spotted lanternfly infestations since Pennsylvania first detected the insect in 2014. Our Plant Industries inspectors have done visual surveys in areas with Tree of Heaven. With the expansion of Pennsylvania’s quarantine to county level and the proximity of these counties to New Castle County, our inspectors ramped up their inspections, detecting one dead spotted lanternfly in the Wilmington area in 2017.

In 2018, our Plant Industries inspectors along with USDA staff conducted surveys around the area where the initial detection was found. With the hatching of egg masses and adults present, the population in Delaware grew. Working with homeowners, businesses, and municipalities, treatment was conducted at various sites.

Along with conducting surveys, our Plant Industries inspectors, in conjunction with USDA contractors, have treated more than 19,000 trees in the initial quarantine zone, established in February 2019, encompassing 130 properties. This number continues to grow daily.

Officials want to eradicate this pest before it spreads, but as a notorious hitchhiker, vigilance is key. With a hard frost, the adults will die during the fall and winter months. The egg masses the females lay this fall will survive the winter and hatch out 30-50 nymphs come late April / early May. Locating and destroying any nymphs now, adults in the summer, and the egg masses created this fall, will reduce the population that hatches out in the spring. Any adults and/or egg masses outside of the quarantine area should be reported to the Department of Agriculture for verification and destruction.

What’s at Risk?

If allowed to spread, this pest could seriously impact the grape, orchard, hardwood, and nursery and landscape industries. The insect can also cause damage to high-value ornamentals in home landscapes and can affect quality of life for residents. In addition, due to quarantines in other states, interstate commerce will be impacted if the pest is transported out of the Delaware quarantine area.

Trees and plants that have been known to be affected are:

Apples

Plums

Hops

Cherries

Plums

Hops Cherries

Grapes

Peaches

Nectarines

Apricots

Figs Raspberries

Almonds

Pine Trees

Oak Trees

Walnut Trees

Poplar Trees Willow Trees

Maple Trees

Sycamore Trees

Rose bushes

Hydrangea

Delaware Spotted Lanternfly Resources

Emergency Regulations for Spotted Lanternfly

Delaware Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Locator

What Does the Delaware Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Mean?

Delaware Homeowner Spotted Lanternfly and Treatment Fact Sheet

Delaware Resident Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Compliance Checklist

Delaware Business Spotted Lanternfly Permit Registration and Testing

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