At least once a week, Ethan Wirth grabs his pest management book and traverses the 5-acre vineyard at DC Estate Winery in South Beloit. As he looks at the grapes, he’ll sometimes reference the book, which lists common insect and fungal issues.
“Scouting,” as the 33-year-old operations manager called it, is an important step in creating high-quality wine. It also might be the primary way grape growers ward off spotted lanternflies. The moth-size invasive pests eat vines, which can damage or kill the grapes.
“I’m definitely concerned about it,” Wirth said. “It’s just one more thing that we’ve got to scout for and know the best plan of attack for treating that issue.”
The black spotted insects were identified for the first time in Illinois in September. Since then, there’s been at least seven more positive sightings, according to Scott Schirmer, the nursery and northern field office section manager at the Illinois Department of Agriculture. One of them was in DuPage County, while the rest were in southern Cook County, he said.
Schirmer doesn’t expect them to cause “widespread plant or tree death” across the state, at least in the near future. But they may have more immediate impacts on the “agritourism industry,” including orchards, pumpkin patches and vineyards, leaving businesses like Wirth’s looking for solutions.
“A lot of grape growers, the winery is also maybe a bed-and-breakfast, but then you come drink wine and sit and watch the sunset, and nobody wants to do that or have a wedding there when there’s insects flying all over or there’s sticky, sooty honeydew everywhere where you sit or walk,” said Kelly Estes, a state survey coordinator for the Illinois Natural History Survey.
Slowing the spread
Native to East Asia, the spotted lanternfly was first detected in southeastern Pennsylvania in 2014. They’ve steadily made their way west, clinging to wheel wells on vehicles or boarding trains and planes, and laying eggs along the journey. They’ve also been identified in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.
High levels of traffic and movement within Chicago make the region vulnerable to the introduction of invasive species, Estes said. The bugs can sneak into small cracks and crevices during travel, and most of the time people don’t know they’re along for the ride, she said.
“Our focus has been on the northeast part of the state and Cook County in particular,” she said. “You think Illinois, cornfields and Midwest, but you look at the Chicagoland area specifically with airports and industry and rail — there’s many different ways things can move through there.”
In fact, the first confirmed sighting of a spotted lanternfly in Illinois on Sept. 16 was by a resident in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood. The resident told the Tribune she noticed the bug while walking her dog near North Broadway and Briar Place.
To prevent the bug’s population from becoming “very established,” Estes said authorities are mainly focusing on early detection and education. She encourages anyone who spots the bug to report it to lanternfly@illinois.edu; the site has already garnered more than 100 responses, she said.
As winter approaches, the time of year when adult lanternflies freeze to death, Estes said it’s important to look out for their eggs. She described a “grayish brown putty laid over top of the eggs,” and said they can be on “just about anything” from telephone poles to trees to rusty metal.
After taking a photo, Estes said it’s best to crush the adults. To kill the egg masses, scrape them into a container with hand sanitizer or rubbing alcohol. See it, snap it, squish it, Estes said.
Schirmer added that people should check their vehicles, boats and campers for the eggs. He said the research and regulatory communities “are continuing to learn” about the insect’s behaviors, potential impacts and effective management strategies.
“Early detection is key in this effort,” he said. “The Department of Agriculture and its partners will continue to monitor the area, work with impacted property managers on best management practices and follow up on reports in the future.”
Wine, grape industry prepares
Some in the wine and grape industry have concerns with a wait-and-see approach, especially after seeing millions of dollars in damages in other states because of the bugs. One study using data from the 2017 Census of Agriculture and a survey of crop production experts calculated a $43 million economic impact to Pennsylvania agriculture, with fruit growers the hardest hit.
When spotted lanternflies feed on vines, farmers might lose grapes that year, Estes said. But she said what is perhaps more concerning is that the health of the vines could be affected for years to come.
“We’re not exactly sure how it will impact grapes in Illinois, but the threat is definitely there,” she said.
Ryan Phelps is vice president of the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Alliance, a nonprofit that supports the nearly 165 wineries and tasting rooms across the state. He’s also the chief operating officer at Walker’s Bluff vineyard, in Carterville, Illinois.
He first heard about the spotted lanternfly about a decade ago while working as an instructor at Western Kentucky University. He knew that the bug would eventually spread throughout the country but wants the state to ramp up its containment and eradication programs to give the industry more time to prepare.
“We’ll do what we can to control it. It being an invasive species, it would be nice if the state would do something to try to eradicate it,” Phelps said.
While Phelps doesn’t think it will be “overly difficult” to control the bug’s population with insecticides, buying the right product in sufficient quantities could present an “economic burden.” Beyond the grapes, he’s also worried about them damaging the aesthetics of some of the businesses. Customers might hesitate to book a wedding, for example, at a winery, Phelps said.
Estes said she also recognizes that much of the state’s agritourism industry is made up of “multifaceted” businesses. She said she hopes to work with grape growers to develop management programs.
To make a property “less attractive” to a spotted lanternfly, Schirmer recommends that people remove their preferred host species, primarily tree of heaven and wild grape vines. He said getting rid of their food sources means they will “be less likely to have a strong affinity” for the property, and won’t show up, feed or “do any significant hanging around.”
Overall, Estes said it’s not all “gloom and doom,” adding that there’s no need to panic yet in Illinois. Over the winter, she said the state will focus on creating an action plan to handle the spotted lanternfly. As business slows down at DC Estate Winery, Wirth is also going to do much the same.
“We’ll definitely be doing some of our own research, and more in depth,” Wirth said. “I’m sure the (vintners alliance) will touch base in one of their classes, and we’ll make sure we’re present and take as many notes as we can.”
