Spotted lanternfly spotted in Chesterton along rail tracks, not far from Thomas Centennial Park
The invasive spotted lanternfly has made its way to Porter County, to Chesterton and, to be more specific, to a few blocks from Thomas Centennial Park.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources said in a Monday release that the insect, which favors trees of heaven commonly found near railroad tracks and often transported by train, has been found in Elkhart, St. Joseph and Porter counties, along rail lines in Elkhart, Mishawaka and Chesterton, respectively.
The insect can damage grape vines and fruit trees, as well as black walnut trees, prized for their veneer, and emit a sticky excrement, called honeydew, that draws stinging insects and decays into sooty mold.
Last year, the insects, which are moth sized and have black spots, were found in Huntington County and it was discovered two years ago in Switzerland County in the northeast part of the state.
A Chesterton homeowner contacted Kallie Bontrager, an inspector and compliance officer with the DNR, after his cat caught a suspicious-looking bug.
“He said his cat had caught it and he said it was a spotted lanternfly,” Bontrager said, adding she asked for pictures to confirm the insect because sometimes people reach out to the DNR with supposed spotted lanternfly sightings only to find out it’s another insect.
Picture in hand, Bontrager went to check the scene in Chesterton late last week with her two Australian shepherds; she is training the dogs to react to the scent of the insect’s egg masses.
The caller lives about a block from the park, Bontrager said, and a few blocks from the train tracks that crisscross the town.
“There was nothing around his house that would be a big host tree,” she said, adding she went to the railroad tracks, where she and her dogs found both trees of heaven and spotted lanternflies.
Bontrager had to send adult flies to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for verification and while she hasn’t received that, the insects are “definitely” spotted lanternflies.
“This time of year, if we find egg masses, we’ll start smashing them,” she said, adding last year, DNR officers smashed more than 10,000 egg masses in Huntington. “I hope we don’t have that kind of population out this way.”
With state and national parks in proximity to the Chesterton sighting, officials said they are keeping a watchful eye on anything that could be amiss.
The DNR informed officials with the Indiana Dunes National Park about the insect on Tuesday, said Bruce Rowe, the park’s public information officer. The insect hasn’t been found at the park but officials are sending out an all-employee email to be on the lookout for them.
“This is the newest nonnative species threatening Indiana Dunes National Park and we are very concerned on its possible impacts on park resources,” Rowe said in an email.
“While we will look for them in the entire park, we will concentrate initially along railroad lines since the egg masses are often found on trains from Pennsylvania where the U.S. population of this invasive originated,” Rowe said, adding the tree of heaven is one of their preferred host trees, so those will be surveyed too.
“We urge the public to alert the DNR of suspected discoveries of eggs, instar stages, or adults as we all work together to extinguish any populations that pop up,” Rowe added.
A planthopper that originated in Asia, the spotted lanternfly is of concern across most of the United States because of its adverse effect on fruit orchards, nurseries, and the logging and wine industries, according to the DNR.
It was first discovered in the U.S. in Pennsylvania in 2014 and is often unknowingly spread by humans. It’s now found in many Eastern states as well as along the rail lines in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo in Ohio, and in Chicago.
The adult insects have piercing, sucking mouthparts and weaken plants by feeding on them, making it difficult for the plant to survive the winter.
Anyone who spots the insect or signs of it should contact DNR Division of Entomology & Plant Pathology by calling 866-NO EXOTIC (866-663-9684) or emailing DEPP@dnr.IN.gov.
More information is available at on.IN.gov/spotted-lanternfly.
