Spotted lanternfly researcher here need egg mass locations.

Submitted by HoneyAndMyco t3_10nf937 in Pennsylvania

Hello all. As I’m sure you’re all aware the spotted lanternfly is an extremely invasive species of planthopper insects that are wreaking havoc on a bunch of profitable and important plant species. I work for a lab that is attempting to rear them in captivity for lab experimentation.

This far we’ve had some luck, (we have had them oviposit, hatch and turn to 2nd instar all in the lab) but we still haven’t quite i the full lifecycle yet, we’ll need to collect a lot of egg masses in the wild first to get large numbers of nymphs all at once to achieve a self sustaining colony.

I’m happy to provide the mods with proof of any of this and also that I have every possible permit from state and federal governments to do this, as again it’s an invasive species.

I’m in NY and I’ve had some success collecting out here but if you guys know of any spots in PA with large amount of egg masses please DM me with a location or post it in the comments. You will literally be helping to stop SLF destruction and helping to contribute to our understanding of them.

222

Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

CltAltAcctDel t1_j68grq5 wrote

Oh do I have the spot for you…

Tanger Outlets in Hershey. There’s one tree in the area of Bed Bath and Beyond that has dozens of eggs patches. Every tree on the property has eggs. There are egg patches on the stucco everywhere. Just walk around and look up. It’s unbelievable. I doubt they’d let you get a ladder and start scraping.

102

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j68hvf8 wrote

Thanks so much for this. Sounds like it can be a huge help!

28

darkangel8724 t1_j69885u wrote

Seconding this and adding that the last time I was in Hershey, i was at the medical campus and these little monsters were EVERYWHERE

13

eMPereb t1_j69l462 wrote

Painter’s telescoping pole duct take scraper have at it

4

didalittle t1_j6a18c3 wrote

I live 2mi from Hershey Park. Last year was nuts with the SPFs. Couldn’t sit at intersection with windows open without them flying in. I felt like Amityville Horror with them covering my windows/house.

4

didalittle t1_j6a1mks wrote

I live 2mi from Hershey Park. Last year was nuts with the SPFs. Couldn’t sit at intersection with windows open without them flying in. I felt like Amityville Horror with them covering my windows/house.

Edited to add that my fairly newer neighborhood has Tree of Heavens of whatever filling all the green spots.

2

No-Entertainment-728 t1_j6bch6v wrote

My sister's work has several Tree of Heavens and she says the SLF cover her building during the warmer seasons. UPMC Integrated Health on Bretz Dr near the PA State Police station. It's like 10 minutes from Tanger Outlets in Hershey. I don't know if there's egg masses, but might be worth a look if OP is out this way anyway.

1

Sea-Operation7215 t1_j68cu8d wrote

The allegheny river trail in Pittsburgh had tons of lantern flies this past season between the 16th street bridge and the Rachel carson bridge. I assume there are hundreds of egg sacks in the trees there now, based on my number of daily kills and the train tracks nearby.

56

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j68d9h3 wrote

Thanks for the info. Can anyone else confirm that there are in fact lots of egg masses there, I’m planning on taking a two day trip to PA to collect them and want to make the most of collecting

20

cryptoplasm t1_j68jqtg wrote

Take a trip right up the hill to Emerald View Park afterwards, tons of Tree of Heaven plants up there this past summer. The park has a diversity of trees that will make spotting egg clumps on the bark a little easier.

6

Nebula_stopthewar t1_j6bg0tf wrote

Frick Park in Pittsburgh also has tons of egg masses. However, our city park rangers hold lots of egg smashing events. The Pittsburgh Park Rangers (@pghparkrangers) are pretty active on instagram, you could dm them and see if they know of some specific parts/trails that would be good spots to check.

2

IamSauerKraut t1_j68oj7e wrote

Make sure you hit up the farms in northern Berks and the orchards in Adams County. Peters Orchard on Rt 94 just east of Gettysburg (b/w Mt Holly Springs and York Springs) is a good place to start.

1

anonymous_scrub t1_j69aaml wrote

The Pittsburgh Airport had quite the infestation. USDA came on-site to spray the trees. Apparently we had quite a few trees that were targets for them.

1

dietchlicious t1_j68flcc wrote

The bike trail in the Southside, too. I work at the Southside Marina, and it was pretty insane for a few weeks. As I was taking them out by the hundreds, I'd look up and down the river, and imagine how many there would be in the spots that didn't have a me to spend whole days hunting them.

15

NotNowDamo t1_j6b5jlp wrote

Little bit of irony that they would be so near a bridge named after Rachel Carson.

3

radiantdarkness_art t1_j68kedg wrote

There’s a smash and trash SLF egg scraping event in Southside Park in Pittsburgh in March. They had one earlier that was successful, and since they’re having another one that should mean there are still plenty of egg masses in the area!

28

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j68tsyf wrote

Please DM me or put me in contact with those running the event!

13

radiantdarkness_art t1_j692vgf wrote

Done!

Anyone else interested in the event can find more info on Insta @pghparkrangers. There’s only 50 spots total for the event, so be sure to sign up soon!

12

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j68t5hv wrote

Hello every one commenting I appreciate your responses. If anyone needs proof that I’m conducting these studies I document my efforts here.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRsS2HGx/

And for everyone commenting. Keep in mind that not all sites with that you’ve seen large amounts of spotted lanternfly contain large amounts of egg masses necessarily. For some reason they like to congregate at certain sites, feed and then move on sometimes without laying many eggs masses at all. So ideally if you guys know sites that have confirmed large numbers of specifically egg masses that’s the ideal scenario.

19

PirinTablets13 t1_j6b7z6g wrote

Mushrooms, wild edibles, and invasive species? Immediate follow.

1

constantnoodling t1_j68e7o3 wrote

This past summer in Cumberland County 》Carlisle area 》North Middleton Township 》 Boiling Springs 》Area around Children's Lake 》trail behind the public pool had considerable amounts of egg masses.

Luckily, my friends and I went colonial marines on their assss and destroyed as many as we could find (5 friends, two hours, prolly 200 such masses) but we feel we barely made a dent.

10

wsdmskr t1_j68klzt wrote

Just go to Hershey Park. Given the thousands I saw during a five minute walk across the parking lot, there's egg masses close by.

10

IamSauerKraut t1_j68ot41 wrote

The parking lots at HP have the perfect trees for SLF: moist tree with soft bark.

5

BScrads t1_j6bwos7 wrote

Or anywhere along the Susquehanna river from Harrisburg on South, they're in every wooded area. I kill them on my own little acre, but it just feels like a pointless losing battle at this point.

1

dis23 t1_j69gpj6 wrote

I live in Berks County. I'm fairly certain we're the epicenter.

We didn't have nearly as many this past year, largely due to multiple groups from state agencies to local governments and even universities contributing efforts to cull them, but there's got to be some useful data still here.

9

Sunkitteh t1_j6b1p2x wrote

We are about 7 miles from ground zero (Kutztown). The flowering trees around the Rite Aid have thousands of patches and is prime real estate for wasps. There are several new paperwasp nests to lap up the honeydew.

2

My_ass_has_a_tat t1_j6ac3h1 wrote

I second this one, we got them in berks before they took over the hershey area

1

sneakysquid102 t1_j68dlze wrote

East stroudsburg here. Haven't seen one for well over 3-4 months now

7

wsdmskr t1_j68kpfn wrote

Right? Two years ago, I wouldn't go a day without seeing one. This year I saw more in NJ than here.

3

sneakysquid102 t1_j68kycp wrote

Funny how they go after vegetation but Jersey City had them lined up on concrete walls. Maths ain't mathing

5

CertifiedFukUp t1_j68nkex wrote

The infestation happens in bands. As they slowly move farther and farther from the epicenter, they disperse. But where they were the year before, they won’t be the following.

5

BoopBoop20 t1_j68plp5 wrote

I wish you were doing this last year.. I had a tree that was COVERED. In the sunlight, you could see a constant stream of sap that they were excreting. It was like the tree was raining. It was so gross

3

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j68tndf wrote

Does the tree have egg masses?

3

BoopBoop20 t1_j68u55x wrote

I’ll take a look when I am home on Tuesday. Currently out of town for a family matter. When do you plan on taking your trip to PA?

2

Fitz2001 t1_j68uj4g wrote

I live in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia, last summer I was killing 50-100 a day in my yard (salt gun sniper here). There’s a wooded area at the bottom of my street that they would fly up out of every day. Near the corner of Terrace St, Churchview St, and Jamestown St, 19127.

3

heeroguy t1_j68ikb5 wrote

there are trees behind R&R auto in schuylkill haven that this summer were just all lantern flies on the bark, dunno what the egg masses look like but i would say hundreds to thousands on some of the trees

2

MadSciTech t1_j68lg0w wrote

It's been a while since I've been there (too cold!) But the trail around wildwood lake in Harrisburg had a bunch of them. Easy to spot.

2

whoamisb t1_j68pq8c wrote

Grey towers national historic site in Milford near the New York/PA border in the northeast. There’s a stone wall around a garden to the left of the mansion that was covered head to foot with lanternflies when I was there in the fall.

2

Tyswid t1_j68ya99 wrote

Go to Hershey park. Saw a shit ton in line for Fahrenheit.

2

Iheartbaconz t1_j69j9si wrote

Kennywood Amusement Park(Pittsburgh side of the state) was over run last year, near the new Steel Curtain coaster. They seemed to be more concentrated in that side of the park. No clue if Kennywood would allow you in during the off season though, cant hurt to ask if over on this side of the state. I dont know what the eggs look like or the exact plants they seemed to be eating though. I just know they were everywhere while in line for the coaster.

2

ishoodbdoinglaundry t1_j6a4hr2 wrote

What do you consider a large quantity? They are all over my trees in my yard.

2

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j6aeiwx wrote

Dozens would be worth making the trip to PA. hundreds would be amazing.

3

BScrads t1_j6bx7ny wrote

Any wooded area south of Harrisburg along the Susquehanna River. South Central PA has lost the war. They are everywhere.

1

Hivesthebutler t1_j6aqy0j wrote

My house

2

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j6bcecw wrote

Your house has egg masses? If so how many?

2

Hivesthebutler t1_j6bwbpr wrote

Idk, but my property is lined with trees of heaven and also has a small patch of woods where there are a bunch of those trees. We’ve had tons of lantern flies everywhere in recent years.

1

artificialavocado t1_j68gos3 wrote

Not sure I know what the eggs masses look like I’ll have to google it.

1

glynnefearn t1_j68o4op wrote

I probably can help with this. I sent you a message.

1

Classic-Cut4362 t1_j68uw5m wrote

When we visited York college there were a ton there flying at us and they encouraged us to step on them and kill them.

1

thebemusedmuse t1_j68vyit wrote

Rolling Hill Park is full of tree of heaven which is their preferred habitat.

1

Limp-Replacement1403 t1_j68x4qq wrote

Howard dam in center county PA. We went over the summer and the walking trails were covered.

1

Cogatanu7CC95 t1_j68xazv wrote

The NW Lancaster river trail from Columbia towards Marietta used to be covered in them, not sure if they still are haven't gone for a while

1

stuckonsometrain t1_j69hir6 wrote

I would contact the Department of Agriculture or the affiliated group at PSU doing research.

1

Salty_Kangaroo_4522 t1_j69kp75 wrote

There are plenty in NJ too, just check out any park there, like Hartshorne woods or sandy hook.

1

mossmachine t1_j69psi7 wrote

Is there a timeline/deadline for when you’d need this information? I’m a forester in northern PA but I have a bunch of colleagues in southeast PA, and I can ask them to keep an eye out and send me the locations over the next couple weeks

1

HoneyAndMyco OP t1_j6aeoaj wrote

The sooner the better I’m running out of my current egg masses and I want to keep a constant supply hatching.

2

annshirley t1_j69xppv wrote

Come to West Philly! Tree-of-heaven grows out of control, and the lanternflies love it. Walk down any block and you’ll find them.

1

bierhcs t1_j6a05mw wrote

Do you think the cold snap leading up to Christmas killed the eggs in the landscape? I sure hope so…

1

Rock_Point t1_j6a2lv5 wrote

I have a lot of lanternfly on the trees on our property, what do egg masses look like?

Found them on google, will take a look around our trees

1

El_Captin t1_j6a2r4t wrote

There was a lot of Lanternfly during peak season along the river on front street. Harrisburg PA. From DMV center area all the way up to Mclay street. The Harrisburg “Green-Belt” had ALOT in general

1

Notnearlyalice t1_j6a5fjo wrote

limerick PA Philadelphia GAA pitch

Wissahikon trail in PA outside of Philly

1

Sweetartums t1_j6absju wrote

We seen how this movie ends up now 🙄

1

My_ass_has_a_tat t1_j6abybl wrote

Literally anywhere in Reading. Over by blue marsh I believe they had a study going on lantern Flys in the area, had a bunch of notices posted in the woods

1

jamisonian123 t1_j6ahblb wrote

Right behind the Department of Agriculture’s building in Harrisburg

1

Justanotherangryman t1_j6ait56 wrote

If you’re in ny, head over towards lake wallenpaupack. There’s a massive amount out here Edit: spelling correction

1

missblitzz t1_j6anqap wrote

mechanicsburg had a shit ton when i went there visiting

1

GaymoSexual t1_j6ar4q5 wrote

There is a tree of paradise in my neighbors yard. Last time I checked there were several egg pods

1

acbc24 t1_j6ay5j6 wrote

This past summer I was at The Markets at Shrewsbury and there were TONS flying around. Not sure if/where there were eggs, but might be worth taking a look at. Happy to send more specific info in DMs if needed.

1

WookieeSteakIsChewie t1_j6b7z8c wrote

Have you reached out to Penn State Extension? They're the people I'd talk to if I wanted to know where they little bastard bugs were.

1

EliteProdigyX t1_j6b8we5 wrote

There were a FUCK ton of them here in Pittsburgh last year. If I’m being honest though I have yet to see any of their egg clusters though. Your best bet is honestly checking along the north shore trail (or like someone else said the Allegheny river trail as it’s official name) since you won’t be trespassing or anything. You’re probably bound to find the suckers there.

1

xxUltraViolence t1_j6bp6ls wrote

Altoona PA was terrible, visited there and saw dozens coating the buildings. Indiana PA was completely devoid of them

1

zipcad t1_j6cxeug wrote

University of Pittsburgh last year had them I swear every 4 square feet

1

DeliveredByOP t1_j6gg8pt wrote

Ohio river trail in Pittsburgh—tons

1