Spotted lanternflies are a nuisance in America because of their destructive nature, eating away the trees’ bark and the seeds that, if planted, will become trees for the new generation. Insecticides would also help kill the insects, but would in turn harm the plants, trees, and other organisms because of their toxicity. Stopping the spread would require everyone’s cooperation to create traps to either eliminate the pests for good or relocate them to their natural habitat in China. Even with such techniques like the traps and motions to stop these spotted lanternflies from coming to America, the outcome will never change. They are now, even with the climate changing from colder to colder, stepping into the winter season, waiting to be born when spring arrives. No matter how much time is spent getting rid of them, it will automatically result in a conflict of nature to fix the imbalance caused by the Spotted Lanternfly.

These reasons are to be given as nobody can tell if the spread will ever stop. The Spotted Lanternfly has found its place in America, just like how the Gypsy Moth was introduced in 1869 as being a native insect in Europe and Asia. But the parasitoid called the Ooencyrtus Kuvanae wasp, which was introduced from Japan to America in 1909, has limited the Gypsy Moth’s spread from 1911–1971 through the laying of its eggs on the host in its caterpillar form, where the hatchling would kill the host as food. This parasitoid has also been doing the same to spotted lanternflies in 2016. This causes a rift in their spread as they are culled by this parasitoid to have their hatchlings protected by the Spotted Lanternfly and then be eaten alive after hatching. Superparasites is the use of female parasitoid behavior to lay their eggs on an insect that has already fallen prey to the parasite and has developed over time. The estimated time to plant parasites in the Spotted Lanternflies’ eggs was from when March was over to the middle of April, when scientists collected these eggs and placed them inside incubators to see the development at close hand. Parasitic wasps have also joined in the fray to lay parasitic substances on the eggs and were collected. Their emergence was recorded the following day, and the eggs were hatching from their exit holes, which determines their existence inside the hosts’ eggs. This method, using another creature that was crucial against the Gypsy Moth, is both incredible and somewhat curious. If the parasitoid can stop the spread, will the spotted lanternflies become immune to the superparasite attacks and fight back with each generation? Though this questions on how it will fair against when winter and any other events during their lifecycle, but hopefully the parasitoid can help stop the Spotted Lanternfly population from growing even more problematic for the community.

Spotted Oviposition Substrate Selection Lanternflies lay their eggs in locations other than dead tree trunks. These locations could be shrubs, building structures, or vines 200 cm above ground. Its host preferences are determined by nymphs and adults from 23 plant species (13 trees, 1 white ash, 5 shrubs, 5 vines, and 1 oriental bittersweet). The density of the egg masses ranges from 0.2 to 75.2 masses/m2, with an average of 6.0 to 6.7 egg masses/m2, but can vary between 2.3-32.5 egg masses/m2 and 0.2-45.4 egg masses/m2 depending on the substrate type.

Spotted lanternflies in their nymph stage have four instar stages that grow their bodies from May to September. The first three instar stages are all black and covered in white spots and are only 1/4 inch with the ability to leap away from any danger such as predators or environmental hazards.