An invasive insect is threatening the survival of grape growers in the Finger Lakes and across the state. Experts at Cornell University warn If left unchecked, the spotted lanternfly could cause exponential damage.
The insect native to Asia was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, and in New York in 2020. Brian Eshenaur is associate director and coordinator with Cornell Integrated Pest Management.
“We're just seeing them starting to become a problem in the Finger Lakes," he said. "They're a problem currently in the Hudson Valley and they've had to treat for them over the last few years. There are similar populations on Long Island."
He said the spotted lanternfly feeds on a variety of plants, but around this time of year, it moves to vineyards.
“It weakens the vines and can have impact on the fruit quality and characteristics as well as the vines themselves, especially when it feeds late into the fall," he said. "Even after the grapes are removed, it is weakening the vines. And in some cases, they don't overwinter. So in the following spring, they don't come back.”
Allan Pinto said research corroborates that damage. He's a Cornell research associate with Integrated Pest Management and specializes in agriculture economics.
“In the first year, Pennsylvania researchers found out that there is no decrease in yield, but there is a decrease in the quality of the grapes," he said. " And on the second year of spotted lanternfly feeding on the grapes and the vines, they found out that there is a decrease in quality and quantity.”
He said over three years, the industry could incur more than $14 million in economic damage. Eshenaur said natural predators keep the spotted lanternfly in check in Asia, but not so in New York.
“Without those predators to feed on it, the populations explode. And that's what we're seeing," he said.
Eshenaur said some of their researchers went to China and had cooperation with scientists there to collect some predators feeding on spotted lanternfly.
"They brought those back into a quarantine facility in USDA to make sure that they wouldn't impact any of our native insects," he said. "There's one insect that has made it through all the tests and they're looking at doing further studies and hopefully in the next few years so that maybe biological control could be part of the answer for spotted lanternfly."
Meanwhile, what can vineyards do? Pinto said scouting the vines is one strategy. Pesticides work, too, but he said it can get pricey.
“They're doing two to three more [applications] during the season and one or two after the grape is harvested," he said. "So we included that [in the cost] and it could be basically $200 more per acre.”
He said that doesn’t include the cost of labor or soaring fuel prices.
Eshenaur said part of the challenge of controlling the spotted lanternfly is the insect is relatively new to science.
"We're still learning about this," he said. "This is an invasive species here that is going unchecked. In its native habitat, it's hard to find."
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and others have introduced bi-partisan legislation to designate the spotted lanternfly an invasive species. That would make it a high priority for research and control.
The New York State DEC encourages anyone who sees a spotted lanternfly to use this portal for reporting.
