Field Notes Update

The Invasive Spotted Lanternfly /  by Todd Henson

The final nymphal stage of a spotted lanternfly

My father and I visited Blandy Experimental Farm, the State Arboretum of Virginia, in mid-August of 2023. While there I saw a flash of red moving on the bark of a tree just beside their bamboo grove. When I looked closer I saw an insect I’d never seen before, a very curious looking insect in red, black and white. And it very obviously noticed me. Every time I got close it stopped moving, and when I moved away it began moving very quickly up the trunk. It was on the shaded side of the tree so I pushed up my camera’s ISO and captured what views I could of this little creature.

Red, black and white, a spotted lanternfly nymph

It was only later, when I was back home and began researching, that I learned this creature was the final nymphal stage of a spotted lanternfly, an invasive species that is spreading quickly across areas of the United States and causing problems for agriculture. It’s native to parts of China and Vietnam, and as is usually the case, isn’t quite the problem in those regions because there are species that keep it in check. But in other regions it can cause great harm to crops and other plants even though its preferred host is the tree of heaven, another invasive species in this area.

To try to deal with it Blandy began an effort to cut back and destroy all the tree of heaven on their grounds. They had previously planted some of these trees for research, but they also are very widespread and considered the most common weed tree in the area. Tree of heaven is a very tough species and they describe trying to kill it as “like trying to kill a vampire: Weaken him with sunlight, holy artifacts, and garlic, then stab him a few hundred times and see what happens.”

If the insects only fed on tree of heaven things might be ok, as one species might get rid of the other, then die out. But the insects only prefer tree of heaven, they don’t require it. If there aren’t enough of these they’ll happily feed on roses, grapes, fruit trees, walnuts, maples, etc, and Blandy was most concerned about their maples, walnuts and ornamental fruit trees.

You might think that if it’s so difficult to kill off the host tree, why not go directly at the spotted lanternflies? Well, they tried that, too, but the insects are also very tough to get rid of. They had a great description of this for those who enjoy reading fantasy and classics: “Its host tree may be Dracula, but the lanternflies themselves are Tolkienian orcs; for each one slain, a hundred more rise from the foul earth to take its place.”

Looking down on a spotted lanternfly nymph

And so they fight what seems a losing battle hoping, in time, they may arrive at some equilibrium. Perhaps the tide will turn if a local parasite realizes it can feed on spotted lanternflies.

My father and I learned first hand how bad it had become in that area, as we visited Sky Meadows State Park in early September, a park not too far from Blandy. While hiking through the woods my father saw something move and land just in front of us. It turned out to be an adult spotted lanternfly. Later that day we stopped for lunch in the outskirts of Front Royal and while in the restaurant I kept seeing insects flying outside and I kept thinking spotted lanterfly. When we left and got a closer view there were dozens and dozens of adults flying all around the parking lot and on the buildings. I just hope none hitched a ride on my car when we returned home.

An adult spotted lanternfly on the ground

It’s unfortunate it does such damage when it finds itself outside its native range, as it’s a very interesting and attractive creature. The adult is especially attractive when it opens its wings and reveals the red underneath.

Read through the following links to learn more about the spotted lanterfly, the damage it can cause outside its native range, and what different areas are doing about it:

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Dogbane Leaf Beetle /  by Todd Henson

Dogbane leaf beetle

While hiking, my father and I were drawn to some shiny metallic colors on several leaves along the trail. When we looked closer we found beetles, very shiny and colorful beetles. Using the Seek app it would appear these are dogbane beetles (Chrysochus auratus), a native of eastern North America. I can’t tell you how great it is to photograph something and discover it’s actually a native and not an introduced species.

A stretching dogbane leaf beetle

As their name implies, they’re often found around dogbane plants, and in fact that is their main source of food. Interestingly, these plants contain toxins fatal to many creatures, and apparently they can cause cardiac arrest in people. And yet, because of a genetic mutation, the dogbane beetle is able to safely ingest these toxins. And they can even use these toxins as a defense if threatened, spraying them on any nearby predator.

Dogbane leaf beetle love

We found one pair of beetles mating, and it would seem this is not at all unusual. They reportedly mate up to once a day almost every day. Busy little beetles. But I suppose this makes sense given their lifespan is only 40 to 60 days.

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My First White Trilliums - Shenandoah National Park /  by Todd Henson

Blushing White Trillium

Trilliums are a very distinctive flower I’ve often seen in photos online but until now hadn’t seen in person. In late April my father and I happened to drive over Skyline Drive through a part of Shenandoah National Park while heading back home from other activities. Just after driving away from a pull-off we both noticed flashes of white in the woods and when looking closer realized it was a large number of trilliums along the forest floor. We turned around and headed back to the pull-off and I grabbed my camera and headed into the woods across the road.

Trillium all over the forest floor

There are times when I almost don’t know what to do, when I feel overloaded by what I see, taking me back to my youth when we’d visit certain large stores in Germany and find a Lego section that just stretched on and on and on. What do I focus on? There’s so much to see, I’ll never see it all. That’s how I felt around all these white trillium flowers in full bloom.

White trillium on leaf litter

The trillium and the tree

But I knew I didn’t have all day to spend here so I calmed myself and slowly began looking for those standout flowers or arrangements of flowers and carefully approached each one. As with many spring wildflowers, trilliums only bloom for a short period of time and so this was likely the only opportunity I’d get with them this year. I hadn’t planned on flower photography this day so I didn’t have my macro lens with me, carrying a single walkabout lens, a 16-80mm f/2.8-4 (thanks Alex). Thankfully it performed admirably and allowed me to create both closeups and wider views.

Unopened white trillium

Young white trillium

The white trillium, more formally known as Trillium grandiflorum, is native to eastern North America and seems most common in mountain forests, which is exactly where we found it. The flowers ranged a bit in size, though overall it’s a very large flower compared to most spring wildflowers I see. It has a distinctive shape with three white petals, three green bracts that resemble leaves, and yellow anthers at the center. The white of the petals can apparently grow pinker as they age, and I found some examples of this. There is also a specific variety of Trillium grandiflorum that is very distinctly pink and can be found in the Blue Ridge Mountains, but I didn’t see any of these on this trip.

White trillium in pink

My timing photographing these was very good as just as I walked back to the car it began raining and it wasn’t long before it was a heavy downpour with large gusts of wind. A little drizzle might have been nice to place some water droplets on the flowers but a heavy downpour with strong winds just doesn’t work well with flowers. I did photograph from the car while we drove through the storms, though, so perhaps I’ll share some of those photos in a future post.

Trillium grove

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse of white trilliums. We’ve done a little research and have learned of other locations we might find these in future seasons. I very much want more opportunities to explore photographing this fabulous flower.

White trillium family portrait

Have you ever seen trilliums? Let me know in the comments below.

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