The spotted lanternfly, an invasive Asian pest, arrived in the United States around 2014 and has since spread rapidly through the Northeast, reaching as far north as Boston and Providence with potential westward movement toward Chicago.

Despite limited genetic diversity from a single introduction, the species remains genetically similar across roughly a 125‑mile range, challenging expectations that low diversity would hinder adaptation.

The insects spread by hitchhiking on trains, ferries, and backpacks, and researchers anticipate continued westward movement toward Chicago, with each female laying a large clutch of eggs to accelerate expansion.

Management guidance currently emphasizes stomping on individuals in urban areas as a precautionary measure, while recognizing that urban-focused control efforts may be needed to curb broader spread.

Female lanternflies lay numerous eggs, enabling rapid population growth from a single successful clutch.

Feeding on tree sap and excreting sugary waste can stain trees and block photosynthesis, threatening hosts like Tree of Heaven and potentially impacting other species through toxin sequestration in their bodies.

They can sequester toxins from Tree of Heaven, which may make them more toxic to predators and influence the broader food chain.

Genomic analyses published in The Royal Society indicate adaptations to urban conditions in Shanghai—heat, pollution, and pesticides—that primed the lanternflies for success in Northeast U.S. cities.

Researchers trace the invasion to Berks County, Pennsylvania, likely starting from a shipment of stone from South Korea linked to urban Shanghai; egg masses survived Northeast winters and aided cross-continental spread, aided by transport on trains, ferries, and backpacks.