STOMP IT OUT- Spotted LanternFly

[RememberSchiff]

From New Jersey BSA scout Troop 99G

Reporting source:

https://villagegreennj.com/towns/south-orange/see-a-spotted-lanternfly-stomp-it-say-south-orange-officials-boy-scouts/

[qwazse]

About 24 KIA when I found them on a surprise ToH sapling that had grown up through my hedge this spring. As many escaped.

I saw  squished specimen downtown at a bus stop. Who knows where it was hatched from?

On a walk around the block at work and I found another ToH sapling yet to be infested. Multiply that by as many blocks with hedges in this city, and that’s their habitat.

We ain’t winning this one. Look out Ohio.

[yknot]

You can't just cut down the Tree of Heaven because it root sprouts and instead of one tree you've suddenly got a dozen runners. There is a process for killing them. The trees are almost as invasive as the SLF. Our county extension agent advised us on how to get rid of them. Chickens, gray catbirds, northern cardinals and preying mantis have been identified as preying on the nymphs and adults so do what you can to keep them around your property  

[qwazse]

12 hours ago, yknot said:

You can't just cut down the Tree of Heaven because it root sprouts and instead of one tree you've suddenly got a dozen runners. There is a process for killing them. The trees are almost as invasive as the SLF. Our county extension agent advised us on how to get rid of them. Chickens, gray catbirds, northern cardinals and preying mantis have been identified as preying on the nymphs and adults so do what you can to keep them around your property  

Hope this link helps https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven

We have plenty of cardinals, and the mantis should be coming round soon. But it seems like most of the nymphs will have matured by then.

Time to keep an eye out for those egg sacks.

 

[RememberSchiff]

FYI:  BSA Invasive Species Management Plan Template

The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) National Camp Accreditation Program specifies that Scout camp properties need an invasive species management plan. Since BSA camps manage natural lands, an appropriate plan needs to be developed and implemented to manage invasive species. Invasive species can be defined as an alien (or non-native) species whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. Like an invading army, invasive species can take over and degrade natural ecosystems. Invasives disrupt the intricate web of life for plants, animals, and microorganisms and compete for limited natural resources. Invasives can impact nature in many ways, including growing and spreading rapidly over large areas, displacing native plants including rare or endangered species, reducing food and shelter for native wildlife, eliminating host plants of native insects, and competing for native plant pollinators. Some invasives spread so rapidly that they muscle out most other native plants, changing a forest, meadow, wetland, or body of water into an invasive species–dominated landscape.

The following example of an Invasive Species Management Plan (ISMP) is based on criteria established by the National Invasive Species Council. This template can be customized by a council to conform to the council’s resources and capabilities and to meet the local need for managing invasive species. Ideally, the Invasive Species Management Plan should be part of the overall Camp Conservation Plan, or at a minimum, it should be consistent with and complementary to the Camp Conservation Plan.

Where practical, the camp ISMP should address key components including prevention, early detection and response, control and management, restoration, and organizational collaboration. These elements form the main structure of the National Invasive Species Management Plan that should serve as the basis for the development of any invasive species management plan.

...

Source with examples of invasive species:

https://filestore.scouting.org/filestore/designdevelop/doc/Invasive_Species_Management_Plan.doc

Edited August 8, 2022 by RememberSchiff

[RememberSchiff]

Oct 3, 2023 - another look

Spotted lanternflies help make smoky honey - great for honey bees and maybe good for us.

As their regular food store dwindle, honey bees feed on the autumn honeydew excreted by mature lantern flies (forget for a moment plants killed by resulting mold).

The honey made from the honeydew has "a weird taste that, at least in my experience, not too many people find palatable. I guess it’s kind of an acquired taste,” he says. “It kind of has a smoky, kind of maple-y taste to it, which sounds great, but it is kind of odd when you’re expecting honey, according to beekeeper Matthew Libhart.

Robyn Underwood, Penn State Extension agriculture educator, submitted samples to several labs. "They’ve found it out-performs manuka honey, the honey approved by the Food and Drug Administration for wound treatment. The spotted lanternfly honey inhibits the growth of bacteria such as MRSA and E. coli."

“No wonder it tastes like crap,” Underwood joked to a group of beekeepers last week. “It’s medicine.”

Interesting reads:

https://www.witf.org/2023/10/10/spotted-lanternflies-are-still-a-pest-but-the-smoky-honey-they-help-make-could-be-good-for-you/

https://lancasteronline.com/features/home_garden/spotted-lanternflies-are-the-worst-but-theyre-the-key-to-a-rare-dark-and-smoky/article_d9f6f9b0-2869-11ec-922b-0b5a1661f1cf.html

Edited October 16, 2023 by RememberSchiff