Why do you need to squish Spotted Lanternflies?
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And now it's time for Who Smarted? Psst, hey, smarty pants, from the background sounds, you could probably tell I'm in the great outdoors. And believe it or not, I'm on the hunt. There's another one, trusty. Four o'clock. Got him. Good job, mate. Oh, I see he brought a friend. That was a big one. I gotta say, this isn't easy. Hey, nobody said two handsome fellas trying to eradicate an invasive species all by themselves is going to be easy.

No, they did not. Smarty Pants, as you can also hear, I'm not alone. Joining me is my good pal, dino hunter and all-around animal expert, Robert Maroon. G'day, smartiest pant wearers. But this is no ordinary friendly meetup. We're actually here together to squish spotted lanternflies. That's right, like this one here.

Wow, they're everywhere! And as much as I dislike the thought of squishing bugs, the spotted lanternfly is an exception. Do you know why, Smarty Pants? Is it because A, they've been spotted committing crimes? B, they steal lanterns and fly off with them? Or C, they're an invasive species? The answer is C. Oh yeah, and right now, these little buggers are invading my garden.

Now, smarty pants, some of you may have heard our episode on invasive species and know what that means. But for those of you who aren't sure or want a refresher course, I'm sure my buddy Robert Maroon would be happy to explain. I don't know about happy. These lanternflies make quite a mess. In addition, we'll also get to the bottom of where did all these lanternflies come from? What do they do that's so bad? And why does everyone, including you listening right now, need to squish them?

After all, they seem pretty harmless. In fact, they're quite pretty. Oh, no. No, no, trusty. Do not be seduced by their lovely red colouring and soft-spotted wings. These lanternflies are some of the worst pests I've ever seen. And I've seen some pretty hairy stuff in the land down under. Trust me, trusty, they're a real menace. Yep, and we'll find out why as we take a whiff of science and history on... Who Smarted? Who Smarted?

Who's smart? Who's smart? Is it you? Is it me? Is it science? Or history? Listen up, everyone. Smarting. Lots of fun. But who's smart? It is estimated that over 4 million people have been abducted by alien life forms. But only one of them asked for it. This is Elio of Earth. If any aliens are listening, come and get me. From Disney and Pixar. Yes, yes.

So, two quick questions, Maroon. One, what exactly is an invasive species? And two, what did you do with my lunch? Oh, this is your lunch?

Sorry, mate. I thought it was mine, which would be weird since I didn't bring any. Here you go.

Now, to answer your question, an invasive species is any species that's introduced into an environment it's not normally found in, where it overpopulates and harms the environment. Yikes. So I guess that's what happened with the spotted lanternfly in the United States, huh? That's right. The spotted lanternfly first arrived in the United States in 2014 and really became a big problem in most of the northeastern USA in 2022. Smartypants, which U.S. state did this spotted lanternfly first appear in?

Was it A, Maine, B, Pennsylvania, or C, Rhode Island? If you guessed Pennsylvania, good job. But Maroon, how did the lanternfly get here in the first place? Why, it hitchhiked. Ha ha, very funny. How can a lanternfly hitchhike? They don't even have thumbs. Come on, trusty, you're better than that. In the animal kingdom, hitchhiking is the term used when an insect's eggs attach themselves to something which then makes its way to a new environment.

It could be a person, another animal, on goods being shipped, or a vehicle. The result is called an accidental introduction. Ah, of course. The eggs. I was just kidding about the thumbs. All right, all right. It was one joke. Invasive species are no laughing matter. By the way, this tuna sandwich is delicious. What? That's my lunch. Give that back.

Also, hold on a sec. I'm confused about something. If the spotted lanternfly is an invasive species here, does that mean it's not invasive in the place that it came from? And if that's the case, how come it causes damage here but not back home? Oh, wow. Excellent questions, trusty. And I'll happily give the answers for another bite of sandwich. Oh, fine. Just have it. You already ate half of it.

Alright then, let's talk about where these little buggers are from. Smarty Pants, any idea? Hmm, I can't say that I know that. Smarty Pants, do you know the country or countries of origin for the spotted lanternfly? The spotted lanternfly is native to China and some parts of Vietnam. And the reason they don't cause harm there is because they're regulated.

Regulated? How? Like, by people spraying them with stuff? Nope. They're regulated by... nature. Hmm. What do you think, smarty pants? What does nature use to control this spotted lanternfly? Is it A. Volcanoes, B. Climate, or C. Another insect? The answer is...

See, nature is able to control the spotted lanternfly with something called a parasitic wasp. A parasitic wasp? Whoa, that sounds scary. It's not for the faint of heart. I suggest you buckle up.

Uh, okay. Hey, are those my chips? Yours, mine, does it really matter? Now buckle up. What the? Where do these seatbelts come from? Welcome to the Parasitic Wasp Ride of Terror. Please keep your hands inside the ride at all times as we fully immerse you into the horrifying way the parasitic wasp controls the spotted lanternfly population.

Oh boy, I love roller coasters! Although I gotta say, this drop looks pretty stea- AAAAAAAAHHHH! Phew, where are we? Why, you're in the Forest of China, where the parasitic wasp lays its eggs inside the body of its host, or host's eggs. In this case, the spotted lanternfly. I'm sorry, what? Told you it wasn't for the faint of heart. Or the thirsty!

Hey, my juice box! Um, are we about to go into a dark, scary tunnel whose entrance is shaped like a spotted lanternfly? Why, yes. You are about to go through a dark, scary tunnel entrance shaped like a spotted lanternfly. Oh, brother. Once inside, you'll lay your eggs right onto the lanternfly. Whoa. Eventually killing it. Here we go. Ah!

Congratulations, trusty the parasitic wasp. You just laid your eggs inside your host. Killing it. Thanks for helping regulate the spotted lanternfly population. Oh, and be sure to check out our gift shop.

So, trustee, now you get why landonflies aren't a problem in their native habitat? I sure do. But couldn't you have just explained that without putting me on that crazy ride? Sure, but then how would I have been able to borrow your apple slices?

Borrow? Wow, you are too much, Maroon. Anyway, getting back to the other invasive species, if the spotted lanternfly is regulated by parasitic wasps in China and Vietnam, but not here in North America, what kind of damage are lanternflies causing exactly? Do you know, Smarty Pants? Let's just say it's pretty bad, trusty. Oh, boy.

We'll find out what damage the spotted lanternfly causes right after this quick break and a word from our sponsors. Hey, parents. Trusty here with something really smart for your smarty pants. I've got nieces, nephews, and close family friends, some homeschooled, some traditional school. And lately, there's one tool they all seem to be using, iXL.

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So if your idea of self-care is hiding in the garage for 30 minutes of uninterrupted podcast listening, Dadville is your new happy place. Listen and subscribe to Dadville wherever you get your podcasts. Now back to Who Smarted. Gee, thanks, Maroon. Is that you finishing up the last of my lunch? Nope, I finished your lunch during the break. That, my friend, is the sound of the spotted lanternfly gobbling up plants.

You see, the spotted landonfly feeds on the woody parts of plants. And while they don't actually eat the leaves, flowers or fruit, they do two things that cause damage to the plant. Such as? First, they suck the sap out of the plant by piercing tiny holes in it with their mouths.

But what's worse is, after they've sucked the sap from the wood, they leave behind their own waste in the form of a sugary fluid. A sugary liquid? Say, that doesn't sound so bad. Trust me, this isn't like your soda pop. This sugary fluid coats the bark, leaves or stems of trees and creates mould. And this mould inhibits the normal process of photosynthesis.

causing the plant to... To what, smarty pants? To get sick? To grow too big? Or to die?

The answer is to die. The lanternflies are plant killers. I see. But wait, even if a lanternfly does munch the woody parts and sucks up sap and leaves behind a destructive sugary liquid of doom, how much damage can one lanternfly really cause? Well, truthfully, one lanternfly won't cause much damage. Oh, so maybe we don't need to squish him.

Oh no, we do. Because there ain't just one lanternfly, there's lots of them. Enough to cause catastrophic death and destruction to plants. But how are there so many lanternflies? Hmm, smarty pants. When a spotted lanternfly lays its eggs, how many eggs does it typically lay? Is it A, 10 to 20, B, 30 to 50, or C, over 100? If you said B, 30 to 50, you're right.

Spotted lanternflies lay their eggs in something called an egg mass. The egg mass is brown in colour and looks a bit like a clump of mud on a tree. Inside this egg mass are 30 to 50 babies, and when they grow up, they'll each lay 30 to 50 eggs at a time, and so on and so on and so on. More lanternflies means less trees, which isn't good for humans who rely on trees to take in carbon dioxide and make oxygen.

Yikes! Is there a specific type of tree the lanternfly likes to prey on? There is! The spotted lanternfly's favorite meal is a tree called the Tree of Heaven. Smartypants, later, maybe you and an adult can look up Tree of Heaven to see what tree is most in danger from spotted lanternflies. Right, but it doesn't stop there. There's a tree called the Tree of Heaven.

They also feed on apricot trees, cherry trees, and walnut trees, to name a few. And lanternflies love grapevines, so a lot of vineyards in the northeastern U.S. are pretty on edge these days. I'll say. So, what's being done to help curb the spotted lanternfly infestation? Is there anything the average person can do to help? How do you even spot a spotted lanternfly? Do they all look alike? Relax, trusty. One question at a time. First, how do you identify a lanternfly?

Easy. You can spot a spotted lanternfly by its spots. I thought that was funny. Spotted lanternflies have grey wings with little black spots, and the underside of their wings is bright red. They also don't fly great distances. They mostly use their wings to hop around so they're easy to catch. Smarty pants. True or false? Baby spotted lanternflies don't have wings. The answer is true.

Lanternfly babies, or nymphs, are black with white spots, and I don't develop their wings until later. They look very different from fully grown lanternflies, but they're just as much of a threat to our environment. You can look baby lanternflies up online too, so you know when you see one. Okay, so now that we know what to look for, what's being done to control the infestation of spotted lanternflies? Maybe we should import parasitic wasps? No, you don't want two invasive species here.

Instead, some experts are suggesting removing the tree of heaven from our environment entirely, since it's the lanternfly's preferred host. But there are other, less dramatic measures being taken as well. A lot of places have started putting sticky traps around tree trunks to help gather as many nymphs as possible before they grow and start feasting like crazy.

And remember those brown egg masses that look like mud? How could I forget? Well, if you see those on a tree or vehicle or your patio furniture, experts suggest scraping them off and putting them in a plastic bag with some hand sanitizer, then throwing the bag away. Copy that. Anything else? Other than that, trusty, it's back to where we started. If you see spotted lanternflies where you live, get squishing.

Step on as many as you can. And we're sure that's the right thing to do, Robert? Absolutely. The Department of Agriculture encourages it. The bottom line is, the spotted lanternfly is a threat to our trees and plants. And we've got to do our part to stop its spread. Remember, they're not harmful to humans. So don't be afraid to approach them, study them, even admire them. They are pretty. That's right. But don't...

But don't get too attached. Just tell that spotted lander fly, G'day, mate, and give it a big stomping squish. Say, what was that? My tummy. I'm pretty hungry. Should have packed a lunch, mate. We got squishing to do. Oh, brother.

A big shout out to Jules in Memphis, Tennessee, who wrote to tell us, I love Who Smarted because you get to learn and discover new things. Thanks, Jules. We're so glad to have you smarting with us. And we promised to do an episode on civil rights and Martin Luther King Jr. Until then, keep smarting.

This episode, Spotted Lanternflies, was written by Phil Jeremy and voiced by Jonathan Regeer, Max Kamaski, and Jerry Kolber. Technical direction and sound design by Josh Hahn. Our associate producer is Max Kamaski. The theme song is by Brian Squishy Suarez, with lyrics written and performed by Adam Stomps-Davis. Who Smarted? was created and produced by Adam Tex-Davis and Jerry Kolber. This has been an Atomic Entertainment production. Who Smarted?