“I don’t believe for a minute you will be able to stop the lanternfly from spreading across the Commonwealth,” said Sen. Laughlin. “I think we need to focus on the help we can give our farmers to deal with this crisis.”
He said he did not know of a successful effort to control a similar invasive insect.
Sen. Laughlin said he believes a good portion of the $22 million lanternfly money should be diverted to dealing with chronic wasting disease in deer.
Sen. Laughlin serves as the Majority Chair of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee.
Secretary Redding said the spotted lanternfly is a pest of federal as well as state concern, in particular because it could be used as a reason to not accept our agricultural products in other countries.
Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks), who serves as the Minority Chair of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, said Berks County is in the center of the spotted lanternfly outbreak and has seen first-hand the damage it does to farms, in particular to vineyards.
She pointed out 70 to 100 percent of vineyards cannot recover from even one year of damage from spotted lanternfly.
[Sen. Schwank no doubt mentioned vineyards because Erie County, which Sen. Laughlin represents, accounts for 72 percent of grape production in Pennsylvania.]
A video of the hearing will be posted on the Senate Republican Appropriations Committee webpage.
Background
The spotted lanternfly was first found in Berks County in 2014. In just five years, the insect has spread to 14 counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. Those counties are now under quarantine.
The Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, in a study funded by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, reported the potential damage from the spotted lanternfly, if not contained, would be at least $324 million annually in Pennsylvania with the loss of about 2,800 jobs.
The current economic losses are estimated to be $50.1 million annually and 84 jobs.
In Erie County, the primary concern is the threat to the region’s grape industry. The spotted lanternfly doesn’t just target vines, however: It feasts on everything from hardwoods to hops.
It’s a generalist feeder, in that it will attack any kind of plant or tree. Plus, they gang-feed, which means if you see one, there likely will be many others there-- enough to really damage and destroy a plant, or even a large tree.
Researchers are hopeful that continuing research will lead to an environmentally friendly solution before Erie County’s vineyards are affected.
Penn State and Cornell University operate a special Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center in Erie to study vineyard disease and test insect controls.
Find out more, visit the Department of Agriculture’s Spotted Lanternfly webpage, the Penn State Extension Spotted Lanternfly webpage and the U.S.D.A. Spotted Lanternfly webpage.
(Photo: Sen. Laughlin and spotted lanternlies on grape vines.)
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