Spotted Lanternfly nymphs (Lycorma delicatula) have materialized nearly daily…

June 25, 2026Connecticut Valley

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nymphs (Lycorma delicatula) have materialized nearly daily across the river valley from Springfield westward to the Connecticut line this June. Nineteen sightings clustered between June 8 and 21—a narrow, intense window—mark the seasonal surge as the insects move steadily through established corridors of tree-of-heaven, their preferred host.

This invasive planthopper reached the Northeast in 2014 and has methodically colonized every major river system since. Its ecological and economic reach is expanding: the insects are now moving into peak honeydew season precisely when grape and hop growers are most vulnerable. Dense populations can strip foliage wholesale, and their sticky residue fosters sooty mold that suffocates photosynthesis. The tree-of-heaven itself—a prolific weed native to Asia—has become a landscape-wide amplifier of the problem, providing abundant, predictable fuel for lanternfly populations in floodplain zones.

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More about Spotted Lanternfly

Spotted Lanternfly confirmed at multiple locations across the watershed

July 30, 2026

(Lycorma delicatula) have been confirmed at multiple locations across the watershed over the past two months — 28 iNaturalist observations from Watertown, Cambridge, Newton, Arlington, Brookline, and Waltham, with four logged in the past two days. These are presence records reflecting where observers have reported the species, not a measure of population size or density.This planthopper, native to China and Southeast Asia, arrived in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has spread steadily north. Its preferred host is (Ailanthus altissima), itself an invasive that has colonized disturbed ground throughout this area — a ready-made food source. Adult lanternflies feed on the phloem of a wide range of trees, including maples, oaks, black walnut, and wild grape, depleting carbohydrate reserves and excreting a sticky honeydew that coats leaves and encourages sooty mold. If you spot one, report it on iNaturalist.