(Radio Iowa) – An invasive insect that gobbles a wide host of plants, trees and crops is now confirmed in Iowa and it’s feared there’s scarcely anything that can stop it from spreading. The state ag department says the spotted lanternfly was found in southeast Iowa’s Des Moines County in September in an industrial area with significant truck traffic from outside Iowa. Boone entomologist Ginny Mitchell says it’s already established in 15 other states and is proving to be very harmful. “The spotted lanternfly feeds on over 100 different species of plants,” Mitchell says, “and where it really comes into play are a lot of fruit-bearing trees, grapes, different berries, and there is the potential of it feeding on crops like soybeans and corn.”

Though many parts of Iowa have seen frost this month, there hasn’t been a hard freeze statewide yet to kill most insects, and even then, the spotted lanternfly could be back in greater numbers next spring. “The females lay a cluster of eggs and then it’s kind of like a coating that almost looks like dried mud on whatever, a tree or a piece of stone or a building,” Mitchell says, “and it really protects those eggs from any of the elements, so these eggs will survive the winter.” Before it grows wings, the young spotted lanternfly is all black with white spots, and as it ages, it will develop red patches. The mature insect has light brown main wings with black spots, while the rear wings are bright orange with black spots, along with black and white bars. Mitchell says it’s going to be extremely difficult to control the spread of these pests.

“They were introduced to the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014 and they think they came on a shipment of stones,” Mitchell says. “It’s really hard to distinguish between the eggs and the stones themselves because they’re practically the same color, so these can move anywhere and eggs can be laid on literally anything.” In recent years, Iowans learned a hard lesson about invasive insects like the emerald ash borer, and no one wants a repeat of that. “We tried to stop the spread by convincing people to not move wood from one area to another and it has decimated the ash trees,” Mitchell says. “It’s all over the place now, so we don’t want something similar happening with the spotted lanternfly. We really need to be diligent in keeping an eye out for this pest so it does not continue to spread.”

Iowans who spot the spotted lanternfly should report it to the Iowa Ag Department’s Entomology and Plant Science Bureau at 515-725-1470 or e-mail Entomology@IowaAgriculture.gov.