With all the attention currently on the COVID-19 Pandemic, it's little wonder that some of us haven't heard of or noticed a creature called the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). This little creature has taken up residence in twenty-six Pennsylvania counties, including Philadelphia County. Other states, including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, and West Virginia, have colonies of the spotted lanternfly. By all accounts, it is not at all benign. According to experts studying this pest, damage to the Pennsylvania economy caused by the SLF is in the neighborhood of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Penn State Extension, an entity of Penn State, is an educational organization that delivers science-based information to Pennsylvanians, businesses, and communities throughout the commonwealth. The department of Entomology, within the Extension Service, is involved in the study of SLF and the development of measures to control its spread.