At first glance, the bugs surrounding Reid Hall and the alumni house are pretty, with their spotted gray wings and flashes of bright red when they take flight. But the spotted lanternfly is actually a six-legged, winged menace. And Lexington is one of its newest homes.
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive planthopper native to east Asia. First detected in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014, the species has spread across the eastern U.S., with sightings in 19 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Lexington City Arborist Ray Ulrich said the city received multiple reports of lanternfly sightings earlier this year, mostly near waterways and construction areas. He said he first noticed nymphs in McCrum’s Parking Lot downtown, where the Wednesday farmers’ market is held each week. Nymphs are the young form of the flies before they undergo metamorphosis.
Washington and Lee Grounds Supervisor Kathleen Black said she first noticed the flies in late August near the alumni house.
While these invasive flies don’t bite or sting, they pose a threat to local plants. When they feed on vegetation, they excrete a “honeydew,” Black said. The honeydew attracts other bugs and often grows a mold, she said, which can stop photosynthesis and eventually kill the plant.
In other parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania, lanternflies have plagued vineyards and young trees, posing threats to industries and household gardens alike.
“They’ve become a nuisance,” Black said. “Hopefully they don’t take out anything major.”
The spotted lanternfly often spreads from state to state by hitching rides on vehicles or transported wood from infested regions. The insects lay egg masses on nearly any surface: cars, outdoor furniture, even light poles. That makes them easy hitchhikers.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services placed nearly half the state under quarantine in 2019 to prevent the insects from spreading further and asked for citizens to report sightings of the bugs. That quarantine was lifted this spring after the insect spread rapidly through the state, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services website.
The flies present around campus are now adults, said Washington and Lee biology professor Bill Hamilton. Most have already laid their eggs, which will hatch in the spring and summer next year.
Warmer winters make it easier for the flies to spread because they don’t kill eggs in a deep freeze, Hamilton said. Whether they’re here to stay remains uncertain, but most experts say complete eradication is unlikely.
