Spotted lanternfly has large potential range in U.S. and beyond

Per Entomology Today (ET), a habitat-modeling study carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that large regions of the United States and countries beyond are vulnerable to invasion should the spotted lanternfly arrive.

According to ET, Tewodros Wakie, Ph.D., a research ecologist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and his team studied climate data in Asia, the spotted lanternfly’s country of origin. They compared its country origin climate to the climates of the states it has spread to, such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They compared these data sets to other global regions, which were modeled to be likely climates for the spotted lanternfly to settle.

ET reported that its findings were published in the Journal of Economic Entomology, with grim results: The spotted lanternfly could spread to New England, mid-Atlantic states, parts of central states and the Pacific Northwest. Globally, they found that most of Europe, eastern Asia and the southern regions of Africa, Australia and South America were also at risk.

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