In the fall, the adults lay inch-long egg masses on anything from tree trunks, rocks and vehicles to outdoor furniture and firewood. They can be identified by their distinctive wings, which are covered in black spots. They begin to transition from July through September, and grow to roughly an inch long and a half-inch wide. They are red with black and white spots, and can typically be seen from April through July. Nymphs, or newly hatched lanternflies, have an almost ladybug-like appearance. While the quarantine has helped slow their spread, by 2020 the lanternfly had made its way to Staten Island - the first center of infestation in the state - and it has since shown up on Long Island and parts of upstate New York. “The goal of the quarantine we have implemented is to help reduce the opportunities these pests may have in hitching a ride on firewood, plants and other common outdoor items and entering our state in the first place,” Richard Ball, the state’s commissioner of agriculture, said in 2018. To try to slow the spread to New York, the state issued an external quarantine in October 2018, restricting the movement of goods and vehicles from states where the flies are known to have populations. The species was discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014, and it quickly spread across the region, establishing populations in nearby states including Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

“The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect from Asia that feeds on a wide variety of plants and trees.” “Several residents have reported seeing spotted lanternflies,” Village Trustee Katie Conlon said at the board meeting on Aug. The spotted lanternfly, an invasive species that feeds on plants and trees, has made its way to Rockville Centre.

Spotted lantern fly staten island