the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, The Spotted Lanternfly, and it has just made its way to Camden City. Please stay vigilant, kill bugs when you see them, and call 1-833-223-2840 (BADBUG) to report the location.
For more info, visit the State Department of Agriculture’s website at: https://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/spottedlanternfly.html
The Spotted Lanternfly, presents a significant threat to agriculture, including the grape, tree-fruit, hardwood and nursery industries.
The destructive species is native to Southeast Asia and was first spotted in Berks County PA in 2014. It’s not known exactly how it made it stateside, but experts think it may have been due to cargo coming in from China, said United States Department of Agriculture researcher Kim Hoelmer.
The species lays its eggs in winter and starts emerging by mid May. These baby lanternflies are black with white spots and wingless. By the middle of July and into the fall, they become adults, develop a “graying wings with black spots” and start mating and spreading.
Since it first arrived, the spotted lanternfly has spread to other counties in Southeastern Pennsylvania and even other states in the Northeast, like Delaware, New Jersey and New York, wreaking havoc along the way.
