In 2012, when the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) arrived in the U.S. from its home in China, scientists, land managers, and growers were understandably concerned that the sap-feeding insect would damage native and commercial trees. New long-term research led by Penn State has discovered that hardwood trees, such as maple, willow and birch, may be less vulnerable than initially thought.
feeding on hardwood trees, the team built large enclosures containing multiple species of tree, including the insect's favorite food, the non-native tree-of-heaven , as well as native trees, including silver maple , weeping willow and river birch . The team included tree-of-heaven in half of the enclosures to determine whether its presence would influence the feeding pressure on the native hardwoods.
To determine the long-term effects of spotted lanternfly feeding on hardwood trees, the team built large enclosures containing multiple species of tree, including the insect's favorite food, the non-native tree-of-heaven , as well as native trees. Credit: Kelli Hoover, Penn State Within the enclosures, the researchers reared different densities of spotted lanternflies for all or most of their lifecycle, from eggs through adults, to see if the number of insects feeding on a tree would impact its growth and survival. After the first two years, they reduced the density of the insects to see if trees would recover.
The team found that increased feeding pressure by spotted lanternfly resulted in reductions in key nutrients, which in turn, markedly impacted tree diameter growth during the first two years when feeding pressure was the most intense. However, in year three when the feeding pressure was reduced, the native trees recovered while tree-of-heaven's growth remained flat. Leaf gas exchange did not differ significantly among the treatments.
"In the wild, we have seen that spotted lanternfly population numbers vary greatly from year to year on individual trees, and they move frequently among host trees," Hoover said."Our study represents a
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