Survival and development of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) on common secondary host plants differ by life stage under controlled conditions

Authors: Elsensohn, Johanna; NIXON, LAURA - Orise Fellow; URBAN, JULIE - Pennsylvania State University; JONES, SHARON - Retired ARS Employee; Leskey, Tracy

Submitted to: Frontiers in Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/27/2023
Publication Date: 2/10/2023
Citation: Elsensohn, J.E., Nixon, L., Urban, J., Jones, S., Leskey, T.C. 2023. Survival and development of Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) on common secondary host plants differ by life stage under controlled conditions. Frontiers in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1134070.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/finsc.2023.1134070

Interpretive Summary: Spotted lanternfly (SLF) is a relatively new invasive insect in the United States. It feeds off many tree species and is an economic pest of winegrapes, threatening the United States wine industry. We tested the ability of SLF to develop and survive on a number of tree and specialty crop species commonly encountered in the Eastern United States, where they are most prevalent. We found they developed most quickly to adulthood on winegrape alone, winegrape combined with black walnut, and winegrape combined with tree of heaven. Those plant combinations also had the highest number of SLF surviving to adulthood. Different life stages of the insect showed different levels of survival on the same plant hosts, indicating some plant may be better suited for SLF for certain stages of development more than others.

Technical Abstract: Host range assessment for emerging invasive insects is a vital step toward fully defining the issues the insect may pose. Spotted lanternfly [SLF, Lycorma delicatula (White)] is an invasive species that is rapidly expanding its presence in the United States. The primary hosts facilitating this spread are tree of heaven, Ailanthus altissima (Mill.) Swingle, a plant from SLF’s native range, and the economically important winegrape, Vitis vinifera L. Black walnut, Juglans nigra L., is also implicated as an important and common host plant. This study investigated the survival and development of SLF on diets that included a variety of crop host plants in the presence or absence of tree of heaven. The following plant species, ‘Honeycrisp’ apple (Malus domestica Borkhausen), ‘Reliance’ peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch], silver maple (Acer saccharinum L.), and tree of heaven were paired with winegrape or black walnut throughout the study. SLF had strong development and high survival on a diet of winegrape alone, and winegrape or black walnut paired with tree of heaven. Survival parameters were reduced with all other plant pairings. In particular, SLF in the winegrape and peach diet treatment did not develop past the third nymphal instar. A second experiment evaluated the survival of early and late instar nymphs and adult SLF life stages on three specialty crops – ‘Cascade’ hops, Humulus lupulus L.; muscadine grapes, Vitis rotundifolia Michx. var. Carlos; and kiwifruit, Actinida deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang & A.R. Ferguson var. ‘Hayward’ grafted onto Act. chinensis Planch. ‘Tango’ – over a two-week period. Nymphs survived longer than adults, with survival of first and second instar nymphs on hops not differing from the control tree of heaven treatment. The adult stage survived best on kiwi and muscadine grape. Our results show tree of heaven and winegrape were the only single plant diets evaluated that are sufficient for complete SLF development, while other host plants may require additional host or hosts of sufficient nutritional quality for SLF survival.