BLACKSBURG, Va. – Led by Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology, Scotty Yang, along with researchers at Virginia Tech, a new ally in the fight against lanternflies has recently been discovered. Published in journal articles “Pest Management Science” and “Neobiota,” researchers have found that ants can be used in efforts against lanternflies.
For example, ants have an appreciation for sugary substances such as honeydew, and as a matter of fact, they search for it and bring it back to their nests. This connection between ants and honeydew then left Dr. Yang with the question, “Could these honeydew-collecting ants serve as an early warning system for spotted lanternflies?”
Recommended Videos
Working beside Dr. Yang is Virginia Tech’s Global Change Center’s Invasive Species Collaborative, which came to the conclusion that ants that foraged in areas with spotted lanternflies carried traces of the bugs’ DNA in their bodies, and more specifically, in the honeydew they had eaten. After analyzing the ants in a lab, scientists can now reliably detect whether spotted lanternflies were present in an area, even if the bugs themselves weren’t spotted directly.
This new method, called antDNA by Yang and his lab, proved to be accurate and powerful. “If there’s even a tiny drop of honeydew left behind by a spotted lanternfly, ants are likely to find it. They’re constantly on the move, searching for food, and their ability to cover a lot of ground makes them surprisingly effective at picking up traces of the spotted lanternfly,” Yang said.
Yang and his lab are now developing a field-ready antDNA kit that allows the molecular analysis to be done on site, making it easier to track and respond to new spotted lanternfly invasions in real time. According to Dr.Yang, “With this new approach, teams could simply collect the ants and run the antDNA test, saving time, money, and the health of the spotted lanternfly host plants.”
For more information on this study, click here.
For more information regarding lanternflies, click the link below: