Spotted lanternfly awareness seminar planned
The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has made its way to Western Pennsylvania.
This planthopper causes serious damage including oozing sap, wilting, leaf curling and dieback in trees, vines, crops and many other types of plants.
The spotted lanternfly is a huge threat to the Pennsylvania agriculture industry. The state Department of Agriculture calculates the economic impact of the spotted lanternfly could total in the hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs for those in the grapes, apple, hops and hardwood industries.
Over half of Pennsylvania counties are designated by the Department of Agriculture as quarantined. While Butler County is not a quarantined county, this invasive pest has been found here.
Penn State Extension is holding a free seminar, Spotted Lanternfly Awareness, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 24 at the Butler Township Park Building, 468 S. Duffy Road.
This seminar will show how to identify the spotted lanternfly in the landscape, what to do with one, and resources for controlling this insect.
Seminar content includes learning about the spotted lanternfly life cycle, trees that attract the spotted lanternfly, and state Department of Agriculture regulations regarding spotted lanternfly. Opportunities to ask questions about the spotted lanternfly will be provided.
Extension personnel leading the seminar are Glenn Bupp, Penn State Extension educator in horticulture, and Diane Dallos, Butler County Master Gardener coordinator.
Register at https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-awareness. The registration deadline is 10 a.m. Monday, Oct. 24.
Diane Dallos is a Penn State Extension Master Gardener of Butler County.
