1. There is an overwhelming hatred of spotted lanternflies (SLF) in Berks County fueled by Penn State, but attempts to kill every insect and remove every egg mass are impossible due to the huge numbers of SLF and host trees in the area. 2. SLF are good hitchhikers and will spread across the landscape quickly using the major transportation arteries around Berks County. 3. The few SLF seen in forests along trails were likely transported by hikers, hunters, or vehicles opening forest roads, as SLF are not strong flyers able to navigate forests on their own.

1. Thoughts on PSU and SLF, Nov. 2019
This is an edited version of a note I sent to someone who did an article
on SLF for a national economic journal.
1.) Here in Berks County we have an almost overwhelming hatred of SLF
which is Penn State fueled. They talk about killing every one we find,
removing egg masses and killing all the Ailanthus to prevent its spread.
This is impossible because there are probably over 1 billion of these
insects in Berks County, a similar number of egg masses and perhaps
10,000,000 Ailanthus trees. Every square meter of this county would have
to be walked to be effective.
2.) If you look at the transportation network in our area you will see
Berks County is ringed with major transportation arteries. SLF is
incredibly good at hitch-hiking. I found that about 2 weeks after I began
seeing adults on one of my research locations in Blue Marsh that the SLF
dispersed across the landscape. (Surprisingly, Blue Marsh Lake itself
seemed to hinder their spread as they could not fly across it and
literally thousands could be seen drowning.)
3.) I have covered many miles of forest trails. The few SLF in the
forests along Blue Mountain and the Appalachian Trail are along the
trails, were apparently carried in by hikers/hunters and/or vehicles when
the PA Game Commission opens up the dirt roads in northern Berks County at
the start of hunting season in mid-September.
4.) Outside of wild grape, a few maples (Box Elder, Norway and Sugar)
along trails and in suburban yards/cityscapes, a suburban poplar and a
mature black walnut I photographed today I have not seen mature SLF
feeding on the "72" or thereabouts species of trees PSU claims they feed
on. I have seen nymphs feeding only on Black Walnut and wild grapes.
5.) SLF lays eggs on trees surrounding a food source. This appears to be
the source of the huge number of trees PSU claims the SLF feeds on.
6.) Ailanthus is an ecotone plant; it is happiest along field edges and
other places it can get direct sunlight and some shade. SLF is adapted and
apparently evolved to this situation.
7.) SLF is a hopper, not a flyer. One long jump tires it, with
subsequent jumps being much smaller. It pretty much just flings itself
into the air, without the fine directional control needed to navigate a
forest. If you watch a grasshopper you will see similar flight
characteristics.
8.) Gypsy moths are a much worse problem locally, having caused
deforestation across large amounts of the local forests a few years ago.
9.) The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) was and to a lesser extent
still is a much larger problem than SLF for me personally and a local

2. organic gardener, who owns a local organic food store. BMSB devastated my
tomatoes and beans the two or three years preceding this.
10.) SLF appears to be almost non-existent in the original site of
introduction near Oley. There is an apparent wave phenomenon where the SLF
population builds up for several years and then crashes. This is part of
invasive theory. Whether there is a periodicity associated with this is
yet to be determined.
11.) There is a lot of funding available for this project. It is
literally a cash cow. More panic and extravagant claims mean more money to
PSU.
12.) PSU has taken several publicity hits such as the Sandusky child
abuse fiasco it let happen for many years. Being seen to "solve" the SLF
issue, regardless of if it solves itself, helps PSU look better to itself
and to the rest of the world.