Have you seen spotted lanternfly eggs in Windsor-Essex? Invasive Species Center urges vigilance

The spotted lanternfly’s egg clutch may seem innocuous — but the Invasive Species Center is warning it poses a terrible threat to the Windsor-Essex region’s wine and fruit-farming industries.

“It looks like an inch-long blob of soil, and it can occur on almost any outdoor surface,” said Emily Posteraro, the center’s program coordinator.

Posteraro was at the Ojibway Nature Center in Windsor on Monday to conduct educational workshops on the spotted lanternfly — a plant-eating insect of Asian origin that has been establishing itself in North America over the past decade.

During the past two years, spotted lanternfly specimens have been seen only 10 times in southwestern Ontario. This includes the bug that local resident Katherine Archer crushed and photographed in South Windsor in late September 2024.

But across the border, spotted lanternflies have been spreading throughout the eastern United States since 2014.

Experts like the Invasive Species Center have been warning that if the insect makes its way north, it would have a major impact on Canada’s vineyards, orchards, flower nurseries and forestry.

Posteraro said what makes the spotted lanternfly such a problem is its “generalist” dietary habits: It can thrive on more than 100 species of vegetation, from vining crops to perennial plants to hardwood trees.

The spotted lantern fly also lacks a preference as to where it lays its eggs: practically any stationary object will do.

At this time of year, adult lanternflies have completed their reproductive cycle and die. But the eggs have already been laid to hatch the following spring.

Posteraro said busy border areas like Windsor-Essex should be especially vigilant, given the volume of cargo and international traffic passing through our region.

“So if you have to go to the US by crossing the border into areas with known infections, you may want to consider getting your vehicle tested when you return,” Posteraro advised. “Any type of outdoor equipment, really. Firewood, concrete slabs. There’s a lot of different places you can look.”

The spotted lanternfly is native to parts of China and Vietnam. It is believed to have been accidentally introduced to North America through international trade.

Now that the insect is on the continent, its improved adaptability is allowing it to thrive on other insect species.

But Maidstone resident Jean Dumochel, who attended Monday’s workshop out of concern for the local ecology, doesn’t think the issue is about survival of the fittest.

“Charles Darwin was not moving species from one continent to another,” Dumouchel said. “So we have created (this issue) … we have contributed to change. We can contribute to trying to create some balance again – to get the balance back.”

The poster encourages anyone who has evidence of the spotted lanternfly to turn it in to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

“What we’re doing is enabling early detection and quick response,” Posteraro said. “So if you see it, we want you to snap it, catch it and report it.”

“Get some pictures of it, and then we want you to actually hold the sample. You can put it in some type of plastic bag or container and then let the CFIA know about it.”

Posteraro said it doesn’t matter whether the specimen is alive or dead.

Insects like the spotted lanternfly aren’t the only invasive species the City of Windsor needs to worry about: the municipality has announced it will enforce herbicides this winter to try to limit the spread of non-native plants.

Honeysuckle, European buckthorn, autumn olive bushes and tree of heaven are among the invasive plants being targeted. The program does not include spray: herbicide will be applied directly to the stumps and vines.

No parks or trails will be closed for the event, but park users are advised to stay on recognized trails and keep pets leashed. Herbicide experiments will continue till March 15.