Project Proposal Research

Problem Statement

The invasive species the Spotted Lantern Fly, through its destructive feeding and breeding habits, has been the cause of extreme agricultural and economic damage in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States since 2014. Without an effective and environmentally safe solution to prevent these behaviors, conditions which are not met by current extermination methods, the Agricultural Association of Pennsylvania (2018) says the invasion could cost 2,800 agricultural or lumber jobs and 324 million dollars next year in lost crop and timber in Pennsylvania alone.

5 Important Takeaways from Attack Path Research

The Lumber industry and the farming industry is at the greatest risk from the Lanternfly and damage to these industries will cause great amounts of economic harm.
Lanternfly leave a black mold which kills and harms plants, and when they lay eggs this also kills trees. This makes them a threat to the environment.
States have issued quarantine zones to try and prevent the spread of the insect so that it is unable to talk out farms and forests so quickly.
Homes and property can be heavily damaged if they contain exterior wood and are now less profitable as well.
Outdoor living and use of outdoor space is now much less enjoyable and this cuts down on enjoyable use of property as well as businesses that rely on outdoor space.

5 Important Takeaways from Market Research

Our biggest competitor is Spotted Lanternfly Killers and their product “Lanternfly Tape”. This tape wraps around the trunk of the tree that attracts spotted lanternflies and will catch any spotted lanternfly that touches down onto it, but could also catch small animals such as birds and rodents.
The basis of competing is to have the most effective trap while keeping the rest of the environment safe. The product will be less harmful to birds, small animals, and helpful insects, which is a problem with sticky tape. It will also have a larger capacity than the circle trap, which can fill up quickly if there is a large infestation. We plan to use vinegar instead of insecticide, like current circle traps, to be more environmentally friendly.
The market is not big enough to expand out west, it is confined to only where the Spotted Lanternfly spreads to.
The product will be sold to homeowners, especially those in a more rural area. Derrick Moore (2018) says that the United States Census Bureau found that about 60% of Americans aged 35-44 are homeowners (refer to figure 4), so therefore the target market should consist of people aged 35 and older.
According to the United States Census (2018) the average income of homeowners in the United States was found to be $60,293 annually in 2014-2018. Therefore it is expected that the target market would have an average income of about $60,000. According to the United States Agricultural Census (2017) the average income of a farm worker in Pennsylvania and NJ is about $35,000 a year.

Graph of Homeownership Rates in the United States from 1982-2017

The black mold caused by the Spotted Lanternfly on a tree and leaves (left)

Larvae on a common sticky trap, which often get other animals and helpful insects stuck and killed (right)

Project Justification

The Spotted Lanternfly is invasive. The species originated in Asia, and hitch-hiked its way to America on boats. When it entered Pennsylvania in 2014 it was clear that the species had the ability to do lots of economical and environmental damage. The United States Department of Agriculture has on their website the following: “If allowed to spread in the United States, this pest could seriously impact the country’s grape, orchard, and logging industries” (USDA 2020). This damage is done biologically. The Lanternfly leaves behind a black mold where it eats and breeds. Over time this kills the plants and can make things like crops and lumber worthless. This is a very large economic issue. The New Jersey Agriculture Department has declared the species dangerous as well. A separate study found that the “Spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White), is emerging as one of the most aggressive invasive auchenorrhyncha pests in in the eastern US: it is extremely polyphagous and it can feed on over 70 host plants, such as apple, plum, cherry, peach, apricot, grape, pine, tree of heaven (preferred tree host), as well as many ornamental plants [1,2,3,4,5,6]. Nymphs and adults cause severe plant damage through the sucking of phloem sap from the vascular bundles of young stems or leaves” (Avanesyan & Lamp, 2020). This serves as justification for prevention methods to be developed. Therefore a market was begun for products to trap and kill the Lanternfly. However, a gap in the market was created by the limit of environmentally effective and safe products. A common product, the sticky trap (pictured below), is harmful to other animals and bugs that are not invasive. They also only work if a specific tree is a hot spot for the species. This means that there is a problem, the lack of effective and safe prevention methods for the invasive Spotted Lanternfly.

Potential distribution of spotted lanternfly in the United States

To see a full version of the project proposal, click here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BN0qav-dnqc8FbIWPuIDTyPYWaUnLQTVMIVCCQD707Q/edit?usp=sharing

References

Jones, L. (2020, July 25). Spotted lanternfly sightings are up 500% in PA compared to last year. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://billypenn.com/2020/07/25/spotted-lanternfly-pennsylvania-increase-500-percent-six-times-invasion-quarantine-map-philadelphia/

Moore, D. (2018, August 13). Homeownership Remains Below 2006 Levels for All Age Groups. Retrieved November 08, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2018/08/homeownership-by-age.html

Schneck, M. (2020, August 31). Spotted lanternfly expert warns of dangers of popular insect trap. Retrieved October 22, 2020, from https://www.pennlive.com/life/2020/08/spotted-lanternfly-expert-warns-of-dangers-of-popular-insect-trap.html

U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: United States. (n.d.). Retrieved November 08, 2020, from https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST04521

Avanesyan, A., & Lamp, W. O. (2020). Use of Molecular Gut Content Analysis to Decipher the Range of Food Plants of the Invasive Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula. Insects (2075-4450), 11(4), 215. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11040215

Nj.gov. 2018. NJ Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Regulation. [online] Available at: <https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/rule/R.2017%20d.190%20(50%20NJR%202235(a)).pdf > [Accessed 23 October 2020].

Spotted Lanternfly. (2020). Retrieved October 23, 2020, from https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly

Potential distribution of spotted lanternfly in United States. (2019, October 03). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://entomologytoday.org/2019/10/03/invasive-spotted-lanternfly-large-potential-range-united-states-beyond/potential-distribution-of-spotted-lanternfly-in-united-states/

An update on the invasive spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula: Current distribution, pest detection efforts, and management strategies. (n.d.). Retrieved November 17, 2020, from https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=26349

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