Report Lanternfly Sightings in MD

(Courtesy Maryland Department of Agriculture)

If you think you have found a spotted lanternfly, the Maryland Department of Agriculture wants it reported. Click here.

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is a planthopper which is native to eastern Asia.

It was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since been confirmed in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. It was discovered in Maryland in 2018, in Cecil County. It has spread to Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Caroline, Carroll, Frederick, Harford, Howard, Kent, Montgomery, Prince George’s, Queen Anne’s, Talbot, Wicomico, and Washington counties and Baltimore city.

According to Patuxent Tidewater Land Trust, the spotted lanternfly females prefer to lay their eggs masses on a host tree, however; they have also been seen depositing eggs on a variety of flat surfaces such as buildings, trailers, fence posts, and vehicles. The eggs are laid in groups of approximately 30 to 50 and then coated with gray wax. When the wax has dried it can look similarly to a splash of mud which can make them difficult to notice. The eggs typically hatch in the spring, usually in the first week of May.

Questions should be directed to [email protected].