---
title: "What the sources say about the Spotted Lanternfly | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "66 claims from the Spotted Lanternfly profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Spotted Lanternfly (*Lycorma delicatula*)

> 66 claims from the Spotted Lanternfly profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Spotted Lanternfly](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/spotted-lanternfly/)

## Lycorma delicatula. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lycorma_delicatula/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A planthopper, not a moth, that turns red as it stocks up on its host tree's chemical defences. | Adult spotted lanternflies can be confused for moths (note: tagline, not a moth) |
| Fruit, ornamental and other woody trees and vines; native to Asia, and listed in 2020 as invasive in Korea, Japan and the United States | native to China, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam. The species is invasive to Korea, Japan, and the United States (note: stats.habitat, range) |
| Fruit, ornamental and other woody trees and vines; native to Asia, and listed in 2020 as invasive in Korea, Japan and the United States | Spotted lanternflies can be found on more than 70 species of plants, including fruit trees, ornamental trees, woody trees, and vines. (note: stats.habitat, trees and vines) |
| Phloem sap | Spotted lanternflies are known to feed upon the sap in the phloem (note: stats.diet; ADW's 'known to' is its idiom for an established feeding habit) |
| with tree of heaven the favourite | Trees of heaven are their preferred host plant. (note: stats.diet) |
| Not Evaluated | IUCN Red List No special status (note: The prefetch found no IUCN assessment DOI for Lycorma delicatula and GBIF holds no category for it; no IUCN reference is cited. ADW's IUCN line anchors the row, as in the llama precedent.) |
| The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is neither a fly nor a moth. | Adult spotted lanternflies can be confused for moths (note: body para 1) |
| Animal Diversity Web warns that adults can be confused for moths. | Adult spotted lanternflies can be confused for moths |
| the final nymph stage | Nymphs in the fourth and final instar have yellow-ish white spots and a reddish color. |
| Adults hide back wings that are bright red near the body | Back wings are black-tipped, white in the center, and bright red near the body. |
| and show only in flight. | The abdomen and back wings can only be seen when in flight. |
| Adult females are 24 to 27 mm long and males are 21 to 22 mm, according to Animal Diversity Web. | Females are 24-27 mm in length, while males are 21-22 mm. |
| Animal Diversity Web lists the species as univoltine, meaning one generation a year. | Spotted lanternflies are a univoltine species (note: The gloss 'one generation a year' is the standard meaning of univoltine; ADW also says Breeding interval Once yearly.) |
| Females lay eggs from August to early November, and the eggs overwinter. | Eggs are laid from August to early November and overwinter. |
| The lanternfly is native to China, Taiwan, India and Vietnam, and in 2020 Animal Diversity Web listed it as invasive in Korea, Japan and the United States. | native to China, Taiwan, India, and Vietnam. The species is invasive to Korea, Japan, and the United States. (note: 2020 is the ADW account's citation date, claimed in its own entry) |
| Animal Diversity Web places it in the order Hemiptera | Class Insecta insects Order Hemiptera Family Fulgoridae (note: faq 1; ADW lists the order in its classification table) |
| Adults can be confused for moths, though. | Adult spotted lanternflies can be confused for moths |
| an invasive tree | Both nymphs and adults feed upon trees of heaven , an invasive plant species. (note: 'invasive' for tree of heaven) |
| in 2020 Animal Diversity Web listed it | Hauze, D. 2020. "Lycorma delicatula" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. (note: ADW account date, for the invasion extent) |
| listed in 2020 as invasive | Hauze, D. 2020. "Lycorma delicatula" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. (note: stats.habitat, task #1254: the ADW account date) |

## Song et al. (2018). Defense sequestration associated with narrowing of diet and ontogenetic change to aposematic colours in the spotted lanternfly. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34946-y

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A planthopper, not a moth, that turns red as it stocks up on its host tree's chemical defences. | the narrowing of host preferences by lanternflies synchronizes the timing of change to red colour with the acquisition of quassinoid defenses (note: tagline, red half) |
| Stores a defensive chemical from tree of heaven, and birds in a study avoided lanternflies collected from it | ailanthone, the main quassinoid sequestered from Ailanthus by lanternflies (note: stats.superpower, stored chemical) |
| Stores a defensive chemical from tree of heaven, and birds in a study avoided lanternflies collected from it | birds taste-avoided lanternflies collected on Ailanthus but not those collected on the secondary hosts (note: stats.superpower, birds) |
| A 2018 study | Received 2018 Jun 18; Accepted 2018 Oct 24 (note: year of the paper) |
| linked the switch to red with the insect narrowing its diet mainly to the tree of heaven, an invasive tree defended by chemicals called quassinoids. | change to red colouration when they narrow their host plant preferences to primarily the tree of heaven ( Ailanthus altissima ; Simaroubaceae), which is chemically defended by quassinoids |
| The lanternflies keep one of them, ailanthone, in their bodies. | ailanthone, the main quassinoid sequestered from Ailanthus by lanternflies as shown through mass spectrometry analyses |
| Bright colours on a distasteful animal warn predators off, a strategy called aposematism. | Bright colours in distasteful prey warn off predators |
| Bright colours on a distasteful animal warn predators off, a strategy called aposematism. | Aposematism is an antipredatory strategy that involves chemically (or otherwise) defended unpalatable prey developing conspicuous signals |
| In taste trials, birds shunned lanternflies gathered from tree of heaven but not ones gathered from other host plants. | birds taste-avoided lanternflies collected on Ailanthus but not those collected on the secondary hosts |

## Li et al. (2023). Putting a new spin on insect jumping performance using 3D modeling and computer simulations of spotted lanternfly nymphs. Journal of Experimental Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246340

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| High-speed video of nymphs jumping in a lab showed take-off speeds of 2.7 to 3.4 metres per second and accelerations of 800 to 1,000 metres per second squared, from fast hind-leg extensions. | These insects used rapid hindleg extensions to achieve high take-off speeds (2.7–3.4 m s −1 ) and accelerations (800–1000 m s −2 ) |
| They spun in mid-air at 5 to 45 turns per second, yet landed successfully in 58.9 percent of trials. | Despite rotating rapidly (5–45 Hz) about time-varying axes of rotation, they landed successfully in 58.9% of trials. |
| High-speed video of nymphs jumping in a lab | In the laboratory, we recorded high-speed 3D video for spotted lanternfly nymphs jumping from a raised platform (note: lab scope; third and fourth instar nymphs) |
| whirl at 5 to 45 turns a second in mid-air | Despite rotating rapidly (5–45 Hz) about time-varying axes of rotation, they landed successfully in 58.9% of trials. (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body sentence "They spun in mid-air at 5 to 45 turns per second, yet landed successfully in 58.") |
| land successfully in 58.9 percent of trials | Despite rotating rapidly (5–45 Hz) about time-varying axes of rotation, they landed successfully in 58.9% of trials. (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body sentence "They spun in mid-air at 5 to 45 turns per second, yet landed successfully in 58.") |

## Kane et al. (2021). Many ways to land upright: novel righting strategies allow spotted lanternfly nymphs to land on diverse substrates. Journal of The Royal Society Interface.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0367

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Nymphs land at varying angles, then flip upright as they bounce, using body rotations, foot adhesion and leg motions. | SLF nymphs impacted the surface at varying angles and then self-righted during the rebound using coordinated body rotations, foot-substrate adhesion and active leg motions. |
| The authors say they take advantage of near-total energy loss on impact. | novel post-impact mechanisms that take advantage of their ability to experience near-total energy loss on impact |
| A second study dropped nymphs and filmed them landing. | Specimens were dropped artificially (i.e., either from tweezers or manually) from a uniform height of 200 mm (note: methods; the abstract says high-speed video of nymphs released under different conditions) |

## Kreitman et al. (2023). The impact of host plant species on instar duration and body weight of nymphal Lycorma delicatula. Frontiers in Insect Science.

https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2022.1110480

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a lab study in which nymphs were reared on tree of heaven, newly moulted adult males averaged 0.120 g and females 0.175 g. | Weight (g) 0.120 ± 0.003b (32) 0.175 ± 0.006a (14) (note: Table 2, Ailanthus altissima columns, male then female; adults reared at 25 C on tree of heaven in 2020. The cached table text puts each cell on its own line.) |
| newly moulted adult males | Any newly molted nymphs were removed from the cages, weighed, and then preserved by freezing for later sexing. (note: adults weighed on moulting) |
| In a lab study in which nymphs were reared on tree of heaven | Nymphs and egg masses were collected to assess each instar’s rate of development at a constant temperature of 25°C (note: constant-temperature rearing, lab scope) |

## Liu (2019). Oviposition Substrate Selection, Egg Mass Characteristics, Host Preference, and Life History of the Spotted Lanternfly (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) in North America. Environmental Entomology.

https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvz123

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In a Pennsylvania study from 2016 to 2017 | studied in Pennsylvania between 2016 and 2017 |
| egg masses held up to 192 eggs, though 91.8 percent held under 50. | Egg mass size ranged between 0 and 192 eggs/egg mass, with 91.8% containing <50 eggs. (note: '<50' in the abstract is 'fewer than 50') |
| Eggs hatched between 2 May and 5 June | Eggs hatched between May 2 and June 5 |
| and the adult stage ran from 24 July to 15 November, 114 days. | and adults lasted for 62 (2 May-3 July), 42 (8 June-20 July), 35 (26 June-31 July), 39 (10 July-18 Aug.), and 114 (24 July-15 Nov.) days |
| Adults spent about two months feeding, then laid eggs in early October. | Adult feed for 2 months before laying eggs in early October. |

## Clifton et al. (2019). A pair of native fungal pathogens drives decline of a new invasive herbivore. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903579116

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| in a 2019 study | Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS. (note: year of the paper) |
| two native fungi caused a local outbreak of lanternflies in the eastern United States to collapse. | Two North American fungal pathogens caused a coepizootic leading to localized collapse of an outbreak population of the newly invasive planthopper pest, the spotted lanternfly ( Lycorma delicatula ), in the eastern United States. |

## Spotted lanternfly lore: Penn State experts clear up falsehoods about pest. Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences.

https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/spotted-lanternfly-lore-penn-state-experts-clear-falsehoods-about-pest

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Phloem sap from more than 100 kinds of plants | spotted lanternflies will feed on more than 100 species of trees and other plants (note: stats.diet, count) |
| It feeds with piercing-sucking mouthparts that work like a tiny straw. | Spotted lanternflies have piercing-sucking mouthparts that function like a tiny straw |
| Third-stage nymphs are black with white spots, but fourth-stage nymphs, the final nymph stage, are red with white spots. | The third instar nymphs are black with white spots, while the fourth instar nymphs are red with white spots. |
| Recent research suggests it rarely kills them, | recent discoveries suggest they rarely kill them |
| and it is not known to bite or sting. | Spotted lanternflies are not known to bite or sting or attack people, pets or livestock |
| Its sugary waste, called honeydew, feeds sooty mold. | it does leave behind sugary excrement called honeydew, which promotes the growth of sooty mold |
| Penn State entomologist Julie Urban says they are not known to bite, sting or attack people, pets or livestock. | Spotted lanternflies are not known to bite or sting or attack people, pets or livestock, noted Urban. (note: faq 2) |
| She adds that their straw-like mouthparts cannot get through human or animal skin. | these mouthparts are not capable of penetrating human or animal skin (note: 'cannot get through' paraphrases 'not capable of penetrating') |
| Usually not, according to Penn State in 2022. | Published: January 4, 2022 |
| Researchers there say recent discoveries suggest it rarely kills the 100-plus plant species it feeds on. | spotted lanternflies will feed on more than 100 species of trees and other plants, recent discoveries suggest they rarely kill them |
| The two exceptions they named are cultivated grapes and the tree of heaven. | There are two exceptions: cultivated grapes, which is a grave concern to vineyard operators in Pennsylvania and beyond; and Ailanthus altissima, known as tree of heaven |
| Penn State reported in 2022 that it feeds on more than 100 plant species. | spotted lanternflies will feed on more than 100 species of trees and other plants (note: 2022 is the page's 'Published: January 4, 2022', claimed in its own entry) |
| She adds that their straw-like mouthparts | Spotted lanternflies have piercing-sucking mouthparts that function like a tiny straw (note: faq 2) |

## Spotted Lanternfly. Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A planthopper, not a moth, that turns red as it stocks up on its host tree's chemical defences. | an invasive planthopper native to Asia (note: tagline, planthopper half) |
| The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture calls it an invasive planthopper. | an invasive planthopper native to Asia |
| It was first discovered in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. | first discovered in PA in Berks County in 2014 |
| the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture calls it a planthopper. | an invasive planthopper native to Asia |

## Spotted Lanternfly. California Department of Food and Agriculture.

https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/pdcp/board/spottedlanternfly.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| California's agriculture department says it can walk, jump or fly short distances, but its long-distance spread is helped by people who move infested items. | While the insect can walk, jump, or fly short distances, its long-distance spread is facilitated by people who move infested material or items containing egg masses. |
| It lays eggs on almost any surface, including vehicles and outdoor equipment. | The spotted lanternfly lays eggs on almost any surface, including vehicles, trailers, outdoor equipment, and patio furniture. |