Virginia Vineyard Reports Half Crop Loss to Lanternflies, Mobilizes 60 Volunteers

Around harvest time three years ago, an employee at Zephaniah Farm noticed gray‑black winged bugs with bright red underwings on trees near the vines. The insects were identified as spotted lanternflies, an invasive species native to China that first appeared in the United States in 2014. They feed on grapevines, hops and fruit trees, excreting a sugary honeydew that encourages sooty mold growth, rendering grapes unsuitable for wine.

The pest has now been detected in 19 states plus Washington, DC, with the densest populations in the Northeast. State agriculture departments report rising management costs as growers experiment with traps, insecticides and manual removal.

Co‑owner Tremain Hatch said, “If we spend as much time farming the grapes but we have half the crop and we’re able to make half the wine, that is not a good thing,” indicating the farm’s yield dropped to roughly 50 % of the previous year’s harvest. Researchers estimate that spotted lanternflies could cost New York wineries millions of dollars in lost revenue. In response, Zephaniah Farm hosted about 60 volunteers for two days during its Scrape for the Grape event, where participants removed egg masses and adult insects from the vines.

The volunteer effort shows a community‑based approach to pest control, but experts warn that lanternflies continue to spread across states and may re‑infest treated areas quickly. Without effective long‑term management, vineyards could face recurring yield losses and increased production costs. The situation highlights the broader economic threat invasive insects pose to specialty crops nationwide.

Watch for state agricultural agencies to expand trapping programs and for researchers to test biological controls that could reduce reliance on volunteer squashing.