Oh S%*&! We Might Be Able to Kill Spotted Lanternflies…Using Their Own Poop!
It's time to get creative killing these spotted suckers.
Each year spotted lanternflies descend down on us like the plague...flapping around, and laying their eggs on our trees plants, houses, rocks, and outfoor furniture. And then once they mate, their eggs lie in wait, camouflaging on the barks of trees, only to hatch and wreak havoc on us once again.
Yes, we know what to do when see spotted lanterflies and their eggs. There instructions are simple: kill them. In any way you can that doesn't also harm other plant or animal species.
But frustratingly, it often seems as though our efforts are fruitless. They come back in the millions each year. Well, a group of scientists may have found a way to kill them more effectively. A way that's a little more creative than simply killing on sight.
The Daily Beast summed this one up pretty well. Scientists led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are working on a way to catch and kill the spotted lanternflies....using their own poop.
The science behind the lanternfly poop works into two ways that are worth noting: It damages plants and wildlife... but it also attracts other spotted lanternflies. Especially the male, uh... poop.
According to The Daily Beast, Frontiers in Insect Science finds that:
"...male honeydew excretions are extremely successful at attracting other male lanternflies, while both males and females were only slightly attracted to female honeydew."
The scientists were able to break down the compounds of the honeydew secretions, and found out which ones can be used to attract them, and possibly use it against them.
Which means, we may have a products where artificial honeydew excretions can be laced with poisons that can attract and kill both male and female spotted lanternflies, which can hopefully kill them more swiftly, and in larger numbers.
Working smarter, not harder!
Let's hope this promising poop poison will be on our shelves sooner rather than later.