27 August 2023
In Schenley Park’s Panther Hole there are solely a handful of Ailanthus altissima bushes (Tree of Heaven) which I hardly ever paid consideration to till not too long ago. A few weeks in the past I seen that the crops and floor beneath these bushes had been moist, although it had not rained. This week the leaves and floor are black. Each phenomena are a by-product of the noticed lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) invasion.

Noticed lanternflies (Lycorma delicatula) are sucking bugs that pierce the bark of their host plant, Ailanthus, and sip the sugary phloem that travels from the leaves to the remainder of the plant. (Phloem movement is orange within the diagram under.)

Every little thing that eats excretes and noticed lanternflies are not any exception. Their watery “poop” is known as honeydew as a result of it is filled with sugar.
If there have been only some lanternflies we’d by no means discover the honeydew however when a big quantity coat a tree the honeydew is difficult to overlook, particularly for the customers of honeydew: bees, wasps, hornets, ants and butterflies.


Sugary honeydew ultimately grows sooty mould. Every little thing with honeydew on it turns black.
Sooty mould is a fungus that seems as a black, sooty progress on leaves, branches and, typically, fruits. It’s non-parasitic and never notably dangerous to crops aside from being unpleasant. Probably, it might have an effect on the plant’s capability to make use of the solar for photosynthesis. For those who can rub the black progress off together with your fingers, it’s most likely sooty mould. For those who can not rub it off, it’s most certainly one thing else.


Finally white mould might cowl the honeydew. I haven’t seen this but however I’m waiting for it.

Will we ever be freed from noticed lanternflies? Sure! Take a look at this weblog This, Too, Shall Cross.
(picture credit are within the captions with hyperlinks to the originals)