Spotted lanternfly has established populations in Massachusetts, with confirmed infestations in Worcester County and Hampden County. The invasive pest was first confirmed in the state in 2021 and has since been detected in multiple towns, posing a growing threat to vineyards, orchards, and hardwood trees across the region.
Where Spotted Lanternfly Has Been Found
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources confirmed the state’s first established spotted lanternfly population in Worcester County in 2021. The initial infestation was concentrated in small, discrete areas of Fitchburg, and the insect has since been detected in Shrewsbury, also in Worcester County. A newer population has been found in Springfield, in Hampden County, marking the pest’s spread westward in the state.
These are established, breeding populations, not just individual hitchhikers. Spotted lanternflies are weak fliers but excellent stowaways. They lay eggs on nearly any hard outdoor surface, from tree bark to patio furniture to vehicle undercarriages, which means they can travel long distances on trucks, trains, and cars. New detections in additional towns are likely as the insect spreads.
How to Identify Each Life Stage
Spotted lanternflies look dramatically different depending on the time of year, so knowing what to search for in each season matters.
Egg masses (September through June): About one inch long, laid on flat, hard surfaces like tree trunks, stones, outdoor furniture, and fences. Fresh egg masses are covered in a white, putty-like coating. Over the winter months, this covering dries and cracks, resembling a smear of dried mud. Old egg masses with the coating worn away reveal rows of small, seed-like individual eggs.
Early nymphs (May through July): The first three stages of nymphs are black with bright white spots, just a few millimeters long at first and growing to about a quarter inch. They’re strong jumpers and will leap away when disturbed.
Late nymphs (July through September): Fourth-stage nymphs are about half an inch long and shift to a striking bright red with black stripes and white spots. This is the stage people most commonly notice because of the vivid coloring. They’re also strong jumpers.
Adults (July through December): About one inch long, with grayish-tan forewings covered in black spots. When the wings open, they reveal bright red hindwings with black spots and a white band. Females tend to be slightly larger than males. Adults are present until the first hard freeze.
Seasonal Timeline in New England
Eggs hatch in May, and the tiny black-and-white nymphs begin feeding immediately. They progress through three early stages from May through July, then enter the red-colored fourth stage in July and August before molting into adults. Adults start appearing in July and persist through December in milder years.
Egg laying begins in September and continues through November or until temperatures drop low enough for a killing freeze. This means egg masses can be found on outdoor surfaces for roughly nine months of the year, from September through the following June. That long window is one reason the insect is so effective at spreading: an egg mass laid on a car bumper in October could hatch in a completely new location the following spring.
What It Feeds On and Why It Matters
Spotted lanternfly is a sap-feeding insect that targets over 100 plant species, but a handful of hosts bear the greatest damage. Grapevines, black walnut, and tree-of-heaven are the most preferred plants across all life stages. Nymphs also feed heavily on poison ivy and Asiatic bittersweet.
Grapevines are the biggest agricultural concern. A single season of heavy spotted lanternfly feeding can kill a grapevine outright. For Massachusetts vineyards, pick-your-own orchards, and areas with wild grape, the stakes are high. Adults have been observed swarming fruit orchards in large numbers during fall, disrupting harvest operations and creating problems for pick-your-own businesses even when the trees themselves aren’t severely damaged. Black walnut and tree-of-heaven suffer serious harm mainly when they’re small saplings.
In the fall, adults also congregate on maple and birch trees. While mature maples and birches are more resilient than grapevines, heavy feeding still stresses the trees and produces large amounts of “honeydew,” a sticky waste product that coats surfaces beneath infested trees and promotes the growth of sooty mold.
What You Can Do on Your Property
Scraping egg masses is the simplest and most effective action homeowners can take. From fall through early spring, check tree trunks, fence posts, stone walls, outdoor furniture, firewood stacks, and vehicles for the putty-like or mud-like patches. Scrape them into a container of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer to kill the eggs. Simply scraping them onto the ground isn’t enough, as eggs can still hatch.
During the warmer months, check your property for nymphs and adults on their preferred plants. Grapevines, black walnut trees, and tree-of-heaven are the first places to look. For nymphs specifically, inspect poison ivy and Asiatic bittersweet as well. In fall, watch for adult swarms on maples and birches.
Circle traps (sticky bands wrapped around tree trunks) can catch nymphs as they climb to feed, though these should be modified with a wire cage or mesh guard to prevent catching birds and other wildlife. Stomping adults and nymphs on sight reduces local numbers, though it won’t eliminate an established population on its own.
Tree-of-heaven is the spotted lanternfly’s primary host and a highly invasive species itself. If you have tree-of-heaven on your property, removing female trees (which produce seeds) while leaving a few males as “trap trees” can concentrate the insects in one area where they’re easier to manage. Removing all tree-of-heaven at once can backfire by pushing spotted lanternflies onto other plants nearby.
Reporting Sightings
If you spot a suspected spotted lanternfly anywhere in Massachusetts, especially outside the known infestation areas in Worcester and Hampden counties, report it to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. Early detection in new locations gives officials the best chance of containing the spread. Take a photo if possible, noting the location and what the insect was resting on. Even a single adult or egg mass in a new town is worth reporting, since it could signal the beginning of a new population.