When the Spotted Lanternfly was found in Pennsylvania, the scientific community engaged immediately. While observations were being made at the Pennsylvania site, existing literature on spotted lanternfly biology and control was reviewed.
The USDA convened a technical working group which gathered experts to interpret available scientific information and to begin crafting a spotted lanternfly response for the United States.
This technical working group included experts from throughout the country, with Pennsylvania scientists playing lead roles. A control plan was conceived, and a long list of research questions emerged. Many groups and organizations are pulling together to find solutions to stop this new pest.
A partial list of the research projects appears below. This is not an exhaustive list, but includes many projects proposed by scientists and/or funded by USDA-APHIS and by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
| Research Topics | Project Title | Lead Researchers | Affliations | Year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Impacts | Paninvasion severity assessment of a US grape pest to disrupt the global wine market | Huron | Temple | 2021 | Link |
| | Potential Economic Impact of the Spotted Lanternfly on Agriculture and Forestry in Pennsylvania | Harper | PSU | 2019 | Link |
| | Economic impacts of invasive pests under climate change: A case of Lycorma delicatula | An | Korea Rural Economic Institute | 2018 | Link |
| Environmental Impacts | Perspective: shedding light on spotted lanternfly impacts in the USA | Urban | PSU | 2020 | Link |
| | Fidelity and timing of spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) attack patterns on ornamental trees in the suburban landscape. | Mason | PSU | 2020 | Link |
| | Exotic invasive species dynamics and impacts in forest ecosystems | Cook | Purdue | 2021 | Link |
| SLF Biology | Phenology of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in Virginia, USA. | Dechaine | Virginia Tech | 2021 | Link |
| | Comparison of the hatch of newly laid Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) eggs from the United States after exposure to different temperatures and durations of low temperature. | Keena | USFS | 2021 | Link |
| | Effects of temperature on development and survival of nymphal Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Kreitman | Rutgers | 2021 | Link |
| | Spatio-temporal model for predicting spring hatch of the spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Smyers | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) can complete development and reproduce without access to the preferred host, Ailanthus altissima | Uyi | PSU | 2020 | Link |
| SLF Behavior | Dispersal and oviposition patterns of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) during oviposition period in Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae). | Jung | Gachon University | 2022 | Link |
| | Horizontal and vertical dispersal capacity and effects of fluorescent marking on Lycorma delicatula nymphs and adults | Nixon | USDA ARS | 2021 | Link |
| | Skewed adult sex ratios observed early in the North American invasion of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Dominque | PSU | 2020 | Link |
| | Visual responses of flight-dispersing spotted lanternflies, Lycorma delicatula toward a tall vertical silhouette in a vineyard | Baker | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Progression of seasonal activities of adults of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, during the 2017 season of mass flight dispersal behavior in eastern Pennsylvania | Baker | PSU | 2019 | Link |
| | Spotted Lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) nymphal dispersion patterns and their influence on field experiments | Calvin | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Dispersal of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) nymphs through contiguous, deciduous forest | Keller | PSU | 2020 | Link |
| Host Plants | Worldwide feeding host plants of spotted lanternfly, with significant additions from North America | Barringer | PDA | 2020 | Link |
| | Distribution, survival, and development of spotted lanternfly on host plants found in North America. | Murman | USDA APHIS | 2020 | Link |
| | Performance and host association of spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) among common woody ornamentals | Uyi | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Survivorship and development of the invasive Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) on wild and cultivated temperate host plants | Nixon | USDA ARS | 2021 | Link |
| Survey and Detection | Nondestructive sampling for spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) egg masses in woodlands based on fixed-radius plots | Liu | DCNR | 2021 | Link |
| | Infrared thermography for insect detection: lighting up the spotted lanternfly in the field | Liu | DCNR | 2021 | Link |
| | Plant volatiles help mediate host plant selection and attraction of the spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae): a generalist with a preferred host. | Derstine | USDA APHIS | 2020 | Link |
| | Discovery of three kairomones in relation to trap and lure development for spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Cooperband | USDA APHIS | 2019 | Link |
| | Terrestrial eDNA survey outperforms conventional approach for detecting an invasive pest insect within an agricultural ecosystem | Allen | Rutgers | 2021 | Link |
| | Egg masses as training aids for spotted lanternfly Lycorma delicatula detection dogs | Essler | Penn Vet | 2021 | Link |
| | Developing traps for the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae). | Francese | USDA APHIS | 2020 | Link |
| | Sensitivity of spotted lanternfly to insecticides and use of sentinel traps in the infestation periphery | Lewis | USDA APHIS | 2020 | Link |
| | Development of behaviorally based monitoring and biosurveillance tools for the invasive spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Nixon | USDA ARS | 2020 | Link |
| | Evaluation of insecticides for control of spotted lanternfly in ornamental nursery crop, 2019 | Leach | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Evaluation of residual activity of insecticides for control of spotted lanternfly in grape, 2020 | Leach | PSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Applications of Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) to control populations of spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), in semi-natural landscapes and on grapevines | Clifton | Cornell | 2020 | Link |
| Treatment Options | Evaluation of insecticides for control of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), a new pest of fruit in the Northeastern | Leach | PSU | 2019 | Link |
| | Efficacy of surface treatments in preventing hatch from spotted lanternfly egg masses | Lewis | USDA APHIS | 2018 | Link |
| | Impact of insecticides and oils in preventing hatch from spotted lanternfly egg masses | Lewis | USDA APHIS | 2019 | Link |
| | Efficacy of trunk injection and bole spray treatments against spotted lanternfly and associated sooty mold production | Grosman | Private Industry | 2020 | Link |
| | Genome sequence of a lethal vascular wilt fungus, Veticillium nonalfalfae, a biological control used against the invasive Ailanthus altissima | Kasson | WVU | 2019 | Link |
| | The probability of spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), escape differs among life stages and between two trapping techniques commonly used by landowners, sticky bands and duct tape. | Desko | West Chester University | 2021 | Link |
| | Chipping to destroy egg masses of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Cooperband | USDA APHIS | 2018 | Link |
| Biocontrols | Discovery of two hypocrealean fungi infecting spotted lanternflies, Lycorma delicatula: Metarhizium pemphigi and a novel species | Clifton | Cornell | 2021 | Link |
| | Season-long infection of diverse hosts by the entomopathogenic fungus Batkoa major | Gryganskyi | Private Industry | 2021 | Link |
| | Genetic diversity, population structure, and rapid early detection of the parasitoid Anastatus orientalis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae) inside eggs of spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Manzoor | Chinese Academy of Forestry | 2021 | Link |
| | Exploratory survey of spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) and its natural enemies in China | Xin | Chinese Academy of Forestry | 2021 | Link |
| | Occurrence, Seasonal Abundance, and Superparasitism of Ooencyrtus kuvanae (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) as an egg parasitoid of the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) in North America | Liu | DCNR | 2019 | Link |
| | Life history and rearing of Anastatus orientalis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), an egg parasitoid of the spotted lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Broadley | USDA APHIS | 2020 | Link |
| | Mass-rearing techniques of Anastatus orientalis (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), as the egg-parasitoid of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae): An using method [sic] of Antheraea pernyi (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) and L. delicatula eggs in laboratory | Seo | National Institute of Agricultural Sciences | 2018 | Link |
| Predictive Modeling | Iteratively forecasting biological invasions with PoPS and a little help from our friends | Jones | NCSU | 2021 | Link |
| | Effect of types of meteorological data on species distribution predicted by the CLIMEX model using an example of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Byeon | Chungnam National University | 2020 | Link |
| | Predicting potential current distribution of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) using MaxEnt model in South Korea | Namgung | Kunsan National Universtiy | 2020 | Link |
| | Modeling the life cycle of the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) with management implications | Strombom | Lafayette College | 2021 | Link |
| | Global phylogeography and invasion history of the spotted lanternfly revealed by mitochondrial phylogenomics | Du | China Agricultural University | 2021 | Link |
| Genetic Research | A high-quality genome assembly from a single, field-collected spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) using the PacBio Sequel II system | Kingan | Private Industry | 2019 | Link |
| | Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Natural Lycorma delicatula (White) (Hemiptera: Fulgoridea) Populations in China as Revealed by Microsatellite and Mitochondrial Markers | Zhang | Northwest A & F University | 2019 | Link |
| | Tracing the origin of Korean invasive populations of the spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) | Kim | Kunsan National University | 2021 | Link |