This notice was just issued by the Township of Cheltenham:

Joining the ranks of the Emerald Ash Borer, Asian Longhorn Tick and Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is the latest invasive species on the radar of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA). 

Invasive species are plants, animals and other organisms that are not native to an ecosystem where their existence can cause economic or environmental harm. Generally, these organisms have no natural predators in their new environment and are able to multiply rapidly enough to replace the native environment, causing significant damage to crops, property and the health of other organisms, including humans.

 The Spotted Lanternfly is native to China, India and Vietnam, and was recently discovered in Berks County in 2014. Despite the efforts of the PDA, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Pennsylvania State University Extension to contain and eradicate the Spotted Lanternfly before it could spread and cause damage, it has spread to surrounding counties necessitating a quarantine, which includes Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill counties.

 The quarantine regulates or limits the movement of plants, plant-based materials and outdoor household items out of the quarantine area unless certain conditions are met. This quarantine is necessary due to the rapid nature in which the Spotted Lanternfly reproduces and spreads. They are a major threat to Pennsylvania agriculture, including the grape, tree-fruit, hardwood and nursery industries, which are worth nearly $18 billion to the state’s economy.

Read the full article here.