California wine industry leaders are warning of a “serious threat” following the discovery that eggs of an invasive insect species were recently shipped to the Golden State.
The California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) announced in a news release earlier this week that “egg masses” of the spotted lantern fly, an invasive species from Asia with an affinity for feeding on wine grapes, had been found in a shipment of art headed from New York to California wine country in March.
CAWG warned that adult spotted lantern flies could be hatching soon if other “egg masses have arrived in California undetected,” which could “affect the entire winegrape industry.” The egg masses found in March were the first-ever in California. Residents were urged to be on the lookout for the insects and report them “immediately” if seen.
“This is essentially a public service announcement to raise awareness of how to identify a spotted lanternfly and the immediate action to take if discovered,” CAWG President Natalie Collins said in a statement. “Spotted lanternflies have been found in 18 states and have proven to pose a serious threat to vineyards.”
“These invasive insects feed on the sap of grapevines, while also leaving behind a sticky honeydew residue on the clusters and leaves,” she added. “Their activities stress the plants, decrease vine health, and in some cases, can lead to plant death.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) via email on Friday night.
The spotted lantern fly measures approximately 1 inch and is identified by its characteristic gray forewings and red hindwings, both of which are dotted with black spots. The egg masses, which contain around 50 eggs each, are a brownish-yellow color but often turn gray over time.
The adult lantern flies are a “planthopper” species capable of flying only short distances. However, they “reveal a bright red, black, and white pattern” when in flight, according to CAWG. The group said that the insects are “typically visible from July through November.”
“SLFs [spotted lantern flies] are described as ‘hitchhikers’ as the egg masses can look like cakes of mud and are transported on trailers, RVs, semi-trucks, containers, trains, and other forms of shipping and transportation,” the CAWG release states. “Egg masses hatch in May/June and the adult SLFs are visible soon thereafter.”
CAWG urged anyone who sees an adult spotted lantern fly in California to report the sighting to the CDFA via phone at 1-800-491-1899 or online at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/Plant/ReportAPest.
The egg masses were found in a metal art installation shipment that was inspected at California’s Truckee Border Protection Station on March 27. An initial finding of “11 viable egg masses on the artwork” resulted in the shipment being turned away and sent back to Nevada.
In Nevada, further inspection revealed 30 more egg masses. The eggs were destroyed and the art installation was washed with detergent before being sent back to the Truckee station. On April 4, officials from Sonoma County—the artwork’s final destination—discovered three additional egg masses before concluding the inspection.
The spotted lantern fly was first seen in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014. North Carolina State University researchers said in a paper published by the journal Communications Biology in 2022 that there was a “low probability” that the insects would reach “the grape-producing counties of California by 2027” and “a high probability by 2033.”
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