![]() The toxins aren’t dangerous to birds, but they’re enough to make the bugs taste bitter, Johnson says. This could mean that the presence of this non-native tree and its toxins is discouraging some potential predators from eating spotted lanternflies. So far, birds have shown a preference for the bugs that didn’t eat tree-of-heaven, she says. To test this hunch, she created two batches of suet-one made with spotted lanternflies that fed on the tree-of-heaven, and the other made with spotted lanternflies that couldn’t access the invasive tree. “That led us to think that spotted lanternfly probably had some sort of defense against predators that was helping it be so pervasive in its new, introduced environment here.” And spotted lanternflies have red wings with black spots. “Animals that are defended in some way often have these bright colors with contrasting black patterns,” Johnson says. Johnson wondered if, by feeding on tree-of-heaven, spotted lanternflies stored these chemicals in their bodies to deter predators, just like monarch caterpillars feeding on milkweed. This prolific tree is fast-growing and quick-spreading-groups of tree-of-heaven clump together, and they produce chemicals in their leaves, roots, and bark that can prevent other plants from growing. Though the lanternflies suck sap from over 70 kinds of trees, it appears they prefer to eat tree-of-heaven, another non-native species from China. As spotted lanternflies congregate on trees and drink their sap, they leave the plants more susceptible to disease and death. When this mold covers leaves, it can inhibit photosynthesis. ![]() Plus, they excrete a sugary substance called honeydew, which attracts sooty mold. The bug could potentially cause $325 million in annual losses in Pennsylvania alone, according to a 2019 report. Spotted lanternflies are such a concern because they eat through woody plants, especially in vineyards. Among insects, the praying mantis took the lead. Following that, Northern Cardinals, Gray Catbirds, Blue Jays, and Tufted Titmice were some of the other most-seen eaters. “That's potentially an observer bias,” Johnson says, since people who keep chickens can see them so easily. The most common avian predator? Chickens. So far, birds are the most-reported predator, though insects also frequently preyed on these bugs. Combined with data from Irizarry’s iNaturalist page, she has compiled 660 predation events to date. She created an email address and a Facebook page, called Birds Biting Bad Bugs, and asked people to send in observations. candidate Anne Johnson at Pennsylvania State University, examined hundreds of predation events. Early results suggest there may even be a way to encourage wildlife to eat more bad bugs. Soon, these observations had a greater purpose: They contributed to a broader research initiative to examine if and how spotted lanternflies could be controlled by predation. The page currently has 78 observations of 33 different species chowing down. In August 2020, he started a page on iNaturalist where community scientists could post photos of birds, other insects, and spiders eating the spotted lanternfly. “Then, as we all started thinking about it, more and more incidents started coming up,” Irizarry says. In Philadelphia-area birding group chats, Irizarry saw others send photos of birds eating the invasive bugs. But birders, who spend plenty of time observing wildlife, soon noticed that wasn’t the case. First detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, it has now spread to at least 14 states in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest, damaging crops and native plants in the process.Įarly on, people generally thought the bug lacked natural predators here, meaning it could reproduce with virtually no limits, says Robin Irizarry, program associate for Audubon Mid-Atlantic. The invasive spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, is a plant-eating threat to the U.S. Others have simply dubbed it a “bad bug,” and, well, that’s pretty much spot-on. It’s not a fly (despite its name), and it’s not a moth (though some call it that).
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