"Heads up: There's an unwelcome visitor in Pennsylvania and officials are urging residents to take caution.

The spotted lanternfly has been moving in and threatening agriculture and trees, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The flies are known to cause some serious damage to trees, including oozing sap, wilting and leaf curling. In more serious cases, they can cause trees, vines, crops and many other types of plants to die.

In addition to plant damage, once spotted lanternflies feed, they eject a sugary substance, otherwise known as honeydew, that encourages the growth of black sooty mold. Each fall, the bugs will lay egg masses with 30-50 eggs each."

Jonathan Franklin reports for NPR August 24, 2021. [2]