Surge in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies expected this year after population plunge

Source: New York Post

They bugged off — and now they’re back in full force! A huge uptick in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies is expected to swarm the Big Apple after a population plunge last year  — and they’re already hatching in droves, experts told The Post Wednesday. An egg count taken this past winter at a vineyard in Berks County, Pennsylvania — considered “ground zero” for the invasive pest — showed roughly 1,700 egg masses per row compared to nearly none the previous year, said Kelli Hoover, professor of entomology at Penn State. A rise in sex-crazed, crop-destroying spotted lanternflies is expected to swarm New York City.