{"id":180520,"date":"2025-09-25T09:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T09:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/180520\/"},"modified":"2025-09-25T09:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T09:37:09","slug":"officials-share-warning-after-invasive-species-is-caught-in-previously-clear-region-a-wave-is-coming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/180520\/","title":{"rendered":"Officials share warning after invasive species is caught in previously clear region: ‘A wave is coming’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Daily Athenaeum reported<\/a> that the spotted lanternfly is spreading in the eastern region of the United States, with the creature becoming established in Morgantown, West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Yong-Lak Park, an entomology professor and lab director at West Virginia University, commented on the spread, stating that, “Now we have them in West Virginia, the Northern Panhandle, Eastern Panhandle, and Morgantown \u2026 a wave is coming.”<\/p>\n

What’s happening?<\/p>\n

The spotted lanternfly, native to China, is an invasive species in America. It was first spotted in 2014 in Berks County, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n

The first sighting in Morgantown in 2024 was not considered an established population, but since then, eggs have hatched, and a younger stage has now been found.<\/p>\n

Invasive species are organisms introduced to a new area, often by human activity, and they can cause harm to the environment, the economy, and human health. They often reproduce quickly and adapt easily, and they usually outcompete native species for resources.<\/p>\n

The spotted lanternfly is thought to have first entered the U.S. by hitchhiking in imported goods<\/a>. The species can only fly limited distances, so they most likely spread by moving around on vehicles.<\/p>\n

New sightings are typically located near roadways, railroads, and rest areas, especially where the tree of heaven, an invasive plant species, grows. Park explained that the tree of heaven is the best host plant for the spotted lanternfly.<\/p>\n

Why is the spotted lanternfly’s presence in the U.S. important?<\/p>\n

Though the spotted lanternfly does not bite or carry disease, and thus does not pose a direct health threat to humans, it can reproduce quickly and become a nuisance in residential areas. It can also negatively impact crop growth.<\/p>\n

If the spread is not controlled, Park said that it may eventually spread across the country to the West Coast, where it could do agricultural damage to the grape and berry industries.<\/p>\n

The potential impact of the spotted lanternfly on environmental infrastructure is a primary concern.<\/p>\n

What’s being done to control the spread of the spotted lanternfly?<\/p>\n

In West Virginia, Park is doing research on controlling the spotted lanternfly population, stating<\/a> that minimizing the damage is the priority.<\/p>\n

“It’s too late to eradicate,” Park said, per The Daily Athenaeum.<\/p>\n

Environmentalists encourage anyone who sees a spotted lanternfly to smash them \u2014 both the adults and the eggs. Humans are a natural enemy, and if we can get rid of as many as possible, it can help slow the spread and minimize their impact on local ecosystems.<\/p>\n

“They’ll eventually go west, maybe even to the West Coast,” Park warned<\/a>. “This is how invasive species work.”<\/p>\n

Join our free newsletter<\/a> for good news and useful tips, and don’t miss this cool list<\/a> of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Daily Athenaeum reported that the spotted lanternfly is spreading in the eastern region of the United States,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":180521,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[106912,4167,106913,106914,79,33586,7943,44919,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-180520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-daily-athenaeum","9":"tag-invasive-species","10":"tag-morgantown","11":"tag-northern-panhandle","12":"tag-science","13":"tag-spotted-lanternfly","14":"tag-west-virginia","15":"tag-west-virginia-university","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180520"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180520\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}