A plague of very festive pests threatens New York City, prompting an official plea for vigilance from Senator Chuck Schumer to those of you who still plan to purchase a pre-cut Christmas tree this year. Schumer's nemesis: The Spotted Lanternfly, an invasive insect that enjoys gnawing on 70 different types of plants—hardwoods and agricultural crops included—and stowing away inside the sacrificed fir you bought from your local street vendor.
"This little critter looks nice, but he's no love bug," Schumer warned during a news conferenced convened Sunday, according to the NY Post. "If we do nothing about them, trees in Central Park, on the streets of New York City, and our beautiful leafy suburbs could very well be at risk."
These Yuletide flies' are admittedly regal in appearance (note their cheerful red wingtips and jaunty polka dots). Don't be fooled, though: At heart, they are hungry chaos agents who won't be sated until all our vineyards, orchards, and park fauna have been laid to waste. For a pleasingly evocative look at the bugs' preferred method of destruction, we turn to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (emphasis mine):
Adults and nymphs use their sucking mouthparts to feed on the sap of more than 70 plant species. This feeding by sometimes thousands of SLF stresses plants, making them vulnerable to disease and attacks from other insects. SLF also excrete large amounts of sticky "honeydew," which attracts sooty molds that interfere with plant photosynthesis, negatively affecting the growth and fruit yield of plants.
Insidious.
For now, the NYC threat remains mostly hypothetical: The bugs have laid siege to Pennsylvania, which reportedly received $17.5 million in federal funding to fight the bug, parts of New Jersey, and have also been confirmed on Long Island, meaning the enemy is closing in. Although Schumer observed that, for the most part, New York has been mercifully unblemished by Christmas tree bugs, he cautioned that "a stitch in time saves nine. We get to work on it early, we could stop [the Lanternfly] from coming here." He would like the U.S. Department of Agriculture to commit resources to the struggle, although he did not name a sum.
Relatedly, I'd also like to remind you that we are still soliciting stories of the various critters that have Trojan-horsed your Christmas trees: Please direct all stories of tree rats, mice, spiders, et al. to [email protected], but any recent Lanternfly encounters you may have had should be directed to [email protected] (as always, pics or it didn't happen) or reported to the Department of Environmental Conservation here.
