RELATED: Invasive spotted lanternfly found in Michigan for first timeAn invasive spotted lanternfly sits crushed on a sidewalk on August 6, 2022, in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images) A native of Asia, the spotted lanternfly was first identified in the United States in 2014, northwest of Philadelphia.
It's likely that insect eggs came over with a load of landscaping stones. Eight years later, there are reported infestations in thirteen states, mostly on the East Coast, according to the New York State Integrated Pest Management program at Cornell University.
Individual insects have been spotted in more states, with two turning up in Iowa this summer.The insect has been able to spread so far, so fast because it is a stealthy hitchhiker.
Drivers this time of year unwittingly give lifts to adults, which look like moths, perched inside trunks, on wheel wells or on bumpers."Check your vehicle," warned Logue. "What you’re really after is anything that maybe is alive, that is kind of hunkered down in there and is not going to get blown off the vehicle during the trip.