Thousands - hundreds of thousands - of Spotted Lanternflies, the most widespread invasive species of the state, have descended upon our county in the past 3 years . On e train tracks, in the parks, swarming potted plants and towering trees alike, they are in every crevice of our home and our lives. We all know what to do by now; stomp, crush, get rid of them in any way possible, but there’s more to this story than what meets the eye.

As winter approaches, the public psyche is moving away from the destruction lanternflies have caused, but the fight against them is still ongoing. This is the prime season for lanternflies to lay eggs, and if they lay eggs, they will come back next year. They appear on trees in the form of large white patches protruding slightly out from the bark of the tree, and can be easily removed by scraping them off with a plastic knife or similar tool. 

But no matter how much we focus on eradicating the species from this part of the world, it will never be fully gone, which is why we need to prevent it from happening ever again. The local and state governments have launched a very successful information campaign against lanternflies since they have become widespread, but this was only after the problem was already much bigger than the ideal population. This same situation has happened many times throughout recent history, so some recommend next time we can jump on the problem with this method before it becomes one.

“The entire issue was caused by lazy shipping restraints, and by the fact that no one thought to check the shipment for anything that could be harmful to the United States’ environment,” said 6th grader and nature enthusiast Luke Bridda. “If the shipping officers just took a little extra look at the stones that were being shipped, this entire crisis would have been averted.” The attitude parallels that of many other people watching, both residents and observers, who are following the issue.