It’s been 10 years since the Spotted Lanternfly arrived in Pennsylvania from China and while it didn’t devastate the state’s agriculture as expected, there was Lanternfly grapevine damage, leaving a heavy mark on the grape and wine industry, writes Henry Savage for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Spotted lanternflies harm native trees, shrubs, and plants, but 10 years in, it seems most of the damage has been reserved for Pennsylvania’s billion-dollar grape and wine industry because the feeding insect will kill grapevines.
The heaviest hit vineyards lost 90 percent of their grapevines.
At the height of the Lanternfly invasion, Penns Woods Winery in Chadds Ford invested $10,000 in an insecticide air cannon, said lead winemaker and vineyard manager Davide Creato in Chadds Ford.
The winery spayed the vineyards three to four times in the first year they had Lanternflies.
“By 2022, their numbers were already going down. Last year, we didn’t spray for lanternflies at all and we haven’t had to spray this year either,” Creato said.
Declining Lanternfly populations are likely due to predators and parasites, a lack of diverse vegetation exhausting the food supply, and an army of residents stomping the insects.
Read more about the impact of Lanternflies on Pennsylvania vineyards in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
