By Mollie Kate Clayton
Well, fellow wine lovers, it’s time for action! The spotted lanternflies are causing chaos to
our vines all across Pennsylvania. They are even quarantined all across Bucks and Berks County.
These insects puncture our beautiful grapes and drain the wonderful juices from them. Not
worried about our vines? How about pear, apple, peaches, and even some hardwood floors? These
pests go after all of these things as well. Have you seen one of these bugs? They are about an
inch long with spotted red and white wings each lanternfly is different in pattern. The best
thing to do for our vines is to kill them as soon as you see them. We have seen one here at the
Bishop Estate Vineyard and Winery in Perkasie Pa, if you haven’t seen one of these bugs yet,
you may have come across one of their egg masses. These masses are gray or light
pink in color and are laid on tree bark they look similar to chewed bubble gum stuck on the
trunk. The best way to get rid of these eggs is to scrape them off of the tree put them into a
sealed plastic bag and throw them away. These lanternflies come from China, India, Japan,
and Vietnam, but we are unsure of how they made their way to the United States.
Lanternflies also were able to survive the harsh winters we have had in Pa the
past few years, which worries the plant-based industry. These bugs are more likely to crawl
because they can only fly for short periods of time. Step up to action and kill these
lanternflies as soon as you see one! SAVE THE WINE!!!! Thank you!
