Originally posted in the Reading Eagle

Written by Karen Shuey

U.S. Rep. Chrissy Houlahan peered through the mesh netting at a small tree of heaven, every inch of the small plant blanketed with hundreds of spotted lanternflies.

"It's a shame really, they're so pretty," she said, turning to the scientists gathered around.

That was just one of the sights the Chester County Democrat saw when she visited Penn State Berks on Tuesday to get a closer look at the battle being waged against the destructive pests. And she was delighted to hear that the latest tests on ways to kill the lanternfly are showing promise.

Julie Urban, an associate research professor at Penn State, told her that a common North American fungus could be the key to the downfall of the winged invader.

She said early findings from studies underway at the Center for the Agricultural Sciences and a Sustainable Environment at Penn State Berks by scientists from Penn State Berks and Cornell University in New York are lending hope to the fight against what has been described as the worst invasive pest to hit America since the gypsy moth.

"We've had some success and are moving forward," she said. "In the meantime, we are essentially buying time until the research trials can be completed. But if this works we will have an answer."

Native to Asia, the lanternfly was first discovered in America in 2014 in Berks County.

Since then, it has spread to 13 other counties in Pennsylvania and has been found in New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. The lanternfly threatens grape, tree fruit, hardwood and nursery industries — which collectively are worth about $18 billion to the Pennsylvania economy alone.

The center at Penn State Berks is in the heart of the quarantine zone and is one of the primary research sites studying methods of controlling the lanternfly through a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture grant. The research team includes scientists from Penn State Berks, Penn State's College of Agriculture Sciences, the Penn State County Extension and Cornell.

$7.5 million grant

After her tour of the outdoor facility, Houlahan held a press conference to highlight how the team had successfully secured a $7.3 million federal grant to continue funding the research taking place to tackle the spread of the lanternfly.

"On the federal level, I'm proud to have led an effort to preserve funding for grants like this one," she said. "While so much down in Washington is very partisan, I'm very honored to have been joined by eight Republicans and six Democrats in Congress from Pennsylvania in outlining the necessary funding to continue our efforts to protect our crops from the spotted lanternfly."

The grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, will also include $5 million in matching investments from growers and landowners who will participate in the research.

Heather Leach, a spotted lanternfly extension associate at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, said she is very excited about the work that has been done in the research facility as well as the efforts taking place on the ground in the communities impacted the most.

She said the recent grant will support a project that aims to quantify the impact the lanternfly has on crops; reduce the damage it inflicts through management tactics; research its biology, ecology and behavior; develop biological control tactics and to provide immediate management solutions to stakeholders; and educate the public through all the partner organizations involved.

"We have all the right people at the table but we also recognize that what we're doing takes sustained funding," Leach said. "It takes time and it takes funding to make sure our communities have the tools available to control the spotted lanternfly."