Category invasive insect

Jul 16 2020

Invasive Pest Alert – Spotted Lanternfly

The Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (White), is a plant hopper that is native to China, India and Vietnam and has become a major pest in eastern PA and in 8 counties in western NJ.   It has been spotted in Ewing landscapes.  They like over 70 different plant species, including fruit trees, ornamental trees, woody trees, vegetables, herbs and vines, as well as agricultural crops like grapes and hops.

The pest strongly prefers another invasive, the “Tree of Heaven, Ailanthus altissima, also from Asia.”   It is an excellent hitchhiker, so if you travel to and from areas where it has been currently found, you should search your vehicle, your clothing and your car load thoroughly, to help prevent its spread.

The Spotted Lanternfly is rather beautifully colored in its life stages.   The adult is approximately 1 inch long and a half inch wide at rest. The forewing is grey with black spots and the wings tips are reticulated black blocks outlined in gray. The hind wings have contrasting patches of red and black with a white band. The legs and head are black; the abdomen is yellow with broad black bands. Immature stages are black with white spots and develop red patches as they grow.  Before it’s a beautiful fly, it’s a nymph.  In the early stages it’s black later it turns red in July-September and eventually it looks like the fly and can be seen July – December.

How to help stop the spread of this invasive species

Remove them: If you see egg masses, scrape them off, double bag them and throw them away. You can also place the eggs into alcohol, bleach, or hand sanitizer to kill them.

Collect a specimen: Specimens of any life stage can be turned in to the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s lab for verification.

Take a picture: A photograph of any life stage (including egg masses) can be submitted to SLF-plantindustry@ag.nj.gov.

Report a siting: If you can’t take a specimen or photograph, call the New Jersey Spotted Lanternfly Hotline at 1-833-223-2840 (BADBUG0) and leave a message detailing your sighting and contact information.

NJ Dept of Agriculture Handouts

Mar 3 2018

Emerald Ash Borer Information Session – Tuesday, March 20th

Come to the Ewing Environmental Commission’s March meeting to learn from the experts about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) threat, how it will affect your property, options for managing your ash trees, and potential solutions.

The Emerald Ash borer has been found in Ewing Township.  (See the Rutgers  EAB Rapid Ash Survey Report and Management Options, Prepared for the Township of Ewing, Mercer County , NJ, By The Rapid Ash Survey Team (RAST) October 2015.)  As this invasive pest can easily spread to neighboring trees, all residents should check their ash trees for symptoms of infestation.

“The emerald ash borer will kill 99 percent of all ash trees within the next few years,” said Bill Brash, the NJ State Certified Tree Expert with whom the EGT has been working about the EAB threat to the municipal tree canopy. “Residents should identify ash trees on their property and monitor for signs of damage or decline such as unusual woodpecker activity or missing bark.”

EAB Facts

Since the discovery of emerald ash borer in Michigan in 2002, the beetle has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America. In May 2014, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture confirmed New Jersey’s first detection of the emerald ash borer in Bridgewater in Somerset County, NJ.

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic green, non-native invasive pest. Trees can be infested for years before the tree begins to show symptoms of infestation. Symptoms include canopy dieback, woodpecker activity, missing bark, D-shaped exit holes, shoots sprouting from the trunk, and S-shaped larval galleries under the bark.

Ash Tree Management

If a tree is already infested or in poor health, it may be best to remove the tree before it becomes infested and poses a hazard to people and surrounding structures. But for those residents with high-value ash in good health, trees can be treated before they become infested.

A Certified Tree Expert can help residents evaluate, then treat or remove ash trees. Contact the Board of Certified Tree Experts at 732-833-0325 or njtreeexperts@gmail.com for a list of professionals serving your area.

Report any signs. If any signs of the EAB beetle are found, call the New Jersey Department of Agriculture at 609-406-6939. Visit http://www.emeraldashborer.nj.gov for more information and check out our own EAB resource page.

untitled-5This program is being provided by the Ewing EAB Partnership, a coalition composed of Ewing Green Team  and Environmental Commission members and representatives from Mercer County, Rutgers University and PSE&G under the direction of NJ State Certified Tree Expert Bill Brash.  It is funded by a 2016 PSE&G grant Partnering for the Restoration of the Community Forest: The 3P Plan, Partnerships-Plan-Planting which funded development of partnerships  to manage the spread and removals of trees infected with the Emerald Ash Borer on Ewing municipal lands.

Date: Tuesday, March 20th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Ewing Senior and Community Center, 999 Lower Ferry Road, Ewing
Details:  Free and open to the public. No registration is required.
Additional Information: Contact EGT Co-Chair, Joanne Mullowney at 609-883-0862 or email: ewinggreenteam@gmail.com