According to Benjamin Simon’s article for The Post and Courier, spotted lanternflies have been rapidly expanding around the country ever since they were first discovered in Pennsylvania in 2014. They have been wreaking havoc on agricultural production wherever they have settled.
In recent years, the invasive species has come as far as North Carolina and Tennessee, and now experts are suggesting that it is just a matter of time before the insects reach South Carolina. This is because the invasive species has already reached those states.
David Coyle, an associate professor of forest health and invasive species at Clemson University, stated that it would be like living in a fantasy world to believe that it will never arrive.
In the moment when they made their initial appearance, spotted lanternflies caused alarm bells to ring all over the country.
People banded together in an effort to reduce their numbers, and one developer in the Philadelphia region even developed an application that gives users the opportunity to compete with one another to see who can eliminate the most bugs.
Specifically, the insect poses a threat to vineyards, as it has the ability to weaken and even kill grapevines. It also targets apple orchards and more than one hundred other types of plants.
The insect is able to travel around with ease, climbing and hiding in the nooks and crannies of a wide variety of commonplace goods, such as automobiles, cardboard boxes, and storage containers, which are carried throughout the country.