The New York State Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive insect, has been found in at least 19 counties in the state, including Rockland. Heather Hamman and Marcus Octaviano are members of the Conservation Corps of the Rockland County Cornell Cooperative Extension and both have been working this summer on their Spotted Lanternfly Invasive Species Project. Heather says in addition to the ailanthus trees, also known as the “Tree of Heaven,” the Lantern fly also attacks a wide variety of local crops…
Marcus says there have been a few seen locally…
Both were guests on last month’s StormWater Consortium show, heard the second Thursday of each month at 9:30. If you see a spotted lanternfly, take a picture of it, note its location, and send the information to spottedlanternfly@agriculture.ny.gov. For more details about the Spotted Lanternfly, click here.