Back to Headlines
Environment
May 02, 2026
Analyzed by Llama- 4 Scout 17B 16E Instruct

US Vineyards Battle Spotted Lanternflies as Invasive Insects Spread

AI Summary
The spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect native to China, has spread to 19 US states, causing significant damage to vineyards and forestry sectors. US businesses, particularly in Virginia and New York, are struggling to manage the infestation, which could cost millions of dollars.

The Spread of Spotted Lanternflies

Around grape harvest time about three years ago, an employee at Zephaniah Farm Vineyard in Leesburg, Virginia, noticed bugs, about 1in long with gray and black wings and a bright red underwing, atop some trees.

They were spotted lanternflies, invasive insects that probably played a role in the fact that the vineyard produced about half as many grapes in 2025 as the previous year, according to Tremain Hatch, a co-owner and viticulturist.

The Economic Impact on Vineyards

Zephaniah Farm is not the only US business that has seen lanternflies suck away their revenue. Their US population has increased in recent years and affected the winemaking and forestry sectors. In New York, for example, researchers estimated that the bugs could cost wineries millions of dollars.

The Data Analysis

  • The spotted lanternflies are native to China and were first detected in the US in 2014 in Berks county, Pennsylvania.
  • They have since spread to 19 states – with the largest infestations in the north-east – and Washington DC.
  • The bugs suck the sap from a variety of plants, including grapevines, hops and fruit trees, and then secrete honeydew, a sugary liquid which can then facilitate the growth of sooty mould.

The Impact Analysis

Scientists are uncertain what the lanternfly population numbers could look like this summer and fall, but they expect them to continue to spread across the country. As such, researchers are looking for ways to protect vegetation – and the wine industry – from the bugs.

“They don’t belong in our environment,” said Brian Walsh, a Penn State Extension horticulture educator who studies lanternflies. “And while you may not be having a huge impact overall on the population by killing individuals, each one that you see and encounter and kill, that is one less that you’re going to accidentally move to a new area.”

The Prediction

Despite the increasing US lanternfly population, Nathan Derstine, a visiting assistant professor of biology at the University of Richmond, does not expect the bugs to wreak as much havoc as, for example, the emerald ash borer, an invasive Asian beetle that has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees.

“This is a recent invasion,” Derstine said. “It’s been about 12 years. That is not very long in the grand scheme of things, and so there has probably not been much adaptation or chance for any response by the natural enemies or parasitoids or things that are present here.”