HYANNIS – A local bug expert highlighted an invasive species that could become a nuisance to the region.
Cape Cod Cooperative Extension Entomologist Larry Dapsis said that spotted lanternflies are present in infested nursery stock that has been shipped throughout the state.
The fly, which is indigenous to China, was first detected in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is now in 11 states.
According to the bug expert, there are already established populations in towns in central Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources is asking for the public to help by inspecting any purchased nursery stock for the bugs.
“Little black insects with white spots on their back, and that would be an indication that you’ve got some lanternfly,” he said.
Dapsis said people who detect lanternflies should kill the bugs and contact MDAR so they can do additional tracing.
The entomologist noted that the lanternfly can be damaging to fruit trees and oak trees and that like aphids, they drink plant sap.
Dapsis added the invasive puts a lot of stress on those plants because they have no natural enemies.
“One of their favorite host plants is tree of heaven, which we have an abundance of on Cape Cod. So if it gets established here, it’s going to be very happy and it’s going to be kind of a nuisance for us,” he said.
Dapsis said that presently monitoring lanternflies is in the surveillance and prevention phases. He hopes research could lead to a natural enemy of the bug that could help control its numbers.
Listen to the full Sunday Journal interview with Larry Dapsis.
By Brian Engles, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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