$7M grant funds project to develop new ways to protect mushroom crops psu.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from psu.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Lanternfly s attraction to vertical silhouettes could help monitor, trap it
Amy Duke
March 29, 2021
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Like moths to a flame, spotted lanternflies are visually drawn toward and seemingly captivated by vertical objects such as utility poles, a behavior that could be valuable in predicting where the pests might be heading, according to entomologists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
Research from the laboratory of Tom Baker, recently published in the Journal of Insect Behavior, is laying the foundation for future strategies to monitor and possibly trap the invasive insect from Asia, which first was found in North America in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014. The planthopper now is confirmed in 34 Pennsylvania counties and several surrounding states.
Like moths to a flame, spotted lanternflies are visually drawn toward and seemingly captivated by vertical objects such as utility poles, a behavior that could be valuable in predicting where the pests might be heading, according to entomologists in Penn Stateâs College of Agricultural Sciences.
Research from the laboratory of Tom Baker, recently published in the Journal of Insect Behavior, is laying the foundation for future strategies to monitor and possibly trap the invasive insect from Asia, which first was found in North America in Berks County in 2014. The planthopper now is confirmed in 34 Pennsylvania counties and several surrounding states.
Lanternfly s attraction to vertical silhouettes could help monitor, trap it miragenews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from miragenews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The tiny insects damage mushrooms, limit yields and make harvesting a hassle.
Penn State photos courtesy of Michael Wolfin Mush 1 This simple screen over a mushroom growing room window is loaded with an environmentally friendly pesticide that kills mushroom phorid flies by the millions. PSU
The swarming flies also irk the neighbors, entering homes by the thousands as they leave mushroom houses in search of mates.
Mushrooms arenât going to leave Chester County, which produces more than two-thirds of the nationâs mushrooms, worth $550 million last year. But something has to be done about phorid flies.
The answer could be low-tech and inexpensive, as Penn State entomologist Tom Baker explained during a Jan. 11 video meeting as part of the Pennsylvania Farm Show (above).