LATROBE, PA — The next time you prepare to stomp on a spotted lanternfly, send it to Saint Vincent College instead. Collection kits for the Spotted Lanternfly Invasion Archive (SLFIA) are now available for 2025.
Now in its third year, the SLFIA is a citizen science project designed to help produce a historical record of the invasive species of planthoppers. Participants collect samples of spotted lanternflies from various locations in the United States, then return them to SVC. Samples are then studied to further understand genetic and morphological traits of this species as they change in our environments.
“There’s so much information we can get from the DNA in a specimen. Essentially, we’re trying to make a molecule museum of the samples,” said Dr. Michelle Duennes, an associate professor in the biological sciences department in the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing at SVC. “My hope is that a few decades from now, somebody can still do DNA sequencing on these specimens in the cold room. There’s lots of research on invasive insects showing that they do evolve over time.”
Seeds for the citizen science project were initially planted by SVC alumna Clare Mulcahy, who earned a biology degree in 2023 before advancing to grad school. While at Saint Vincent, Mulcahy wanted to conduct a research project on insects. In consultation with Duennes, they agreed that spotted lanternflies would likely be easy to find. As Mulcahy didn’t have a vehicle to travel off campus, the professor and student came up with the idea to recruit people to help collect specimens.
“I realized people really hate these things, and I thought maybe we could get people to collect them for us,” Duennes recalled of the evolving study.
The spotted lanternfly is thought to have made it into the United States as egg masses on a stone shipment in 2012. Native to China, India and Vietnam, they were found in Berks County in September 2014. At least 17 states have some degree of infestation.
Westmoreland County in 2021 was added to the state Department of Agriculture’s spotted lanternfly quarantine zone. The following year, the professor and student employed the help of friends who collected over 100 samples for Mulcahy to study.
“What you might expect with a species that is native, maybe in northern Pennsylvania, they’d have their own distinct genetics, and maybe in the Laurel Highlands their genetics would be distinct,” Duennes said. “That could show up in species that have been here forever, but with the spotted lanternflies, they just got here, and we know they’re getting moved around all the time everywhere, and we know they can travel long distances. Every sample we have is part of a huge population moving around and migrating all over the place. We thought they might have lower genetic diversity, which is not good for a species, but they actually have pretty good levels of genetic diversity, which is not great for trying to control them.”
Mulcahy also found that the veins and patterns of the wings of the spotted lanternfly samples were mostly the same.
As public interest grew, Duennes realized that Mulcahy’s research project could be reimagined on a larger scale in the form of a citizen science project, an initiative Duennes has always sought out.
“I just really love interacting with the public, so I thought this would be a really cool way to get people involved with the project,” she said.
Launched in 2023 in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, the citizen science project has not been without a host of challenges.
Repeat contributors were initially asked to submit samples on an annual basis and as close to the initial location as possible.
“Part of that is, it is very likely that they will evolve in response to all the things we’re doing to control them,” Duennes said. “If we have samples that are collected in the same geographic location every year, we can see how that specific population is changing over time.”
The researchers quickly realized that likely would not be possible due to spotted lanternflies’ constant migration habits. Some people who successfully submitted samples during the first year promptly ordered kits the following year, only to find no spotted lanternflies in the initial location.
“There are so many different reasons why they could blink in and out, like maybe some neighborhoods were doing more to control them,” Duennes said. “When they drink up all the sap in the trees in one location, after the females have mated, they’ll just fly somewhere else to lay their eggs or where there’s going to be food.”
Spotted lanternflies feed on dozens of host plants in the United States, leaving behind a honeydew substance after eating sap out of trees, Duennes said. Remaining elements of the sap are released from spotted lanternflies onto leaves and trees. This sugary substance attracts bugs and can eventually cause mold. This combination over time poses serious harm to host plants, she added, and can even kill them.
Among the host plants are grapevines, which understandably has wine vineyard owners worried. While spotted lanternflies can kill the grapevines outright, they can also change the flavor profile of grapes, which could potentially ruin wine batches.
Though spotted lanternflies haven’t migrated to northern Pennsylvania and Erie yet, efforts are underway to prevent their movement due to its profitable vine-growing region.
“Penn State Extension has distributed pamphlets about what vineyards can do to be proactive about them coming there,” Duennes said. “That's why California is terrified that they're going to come there.”
Another issue has been preserving the specimens in rubbing alcohol. As ethanol cannot be sent through regular mail, Duennes was relying on participants returning their specimens in person. There was ample interest in 2023 with roughly 425 people signed up, but only 10% of those participants returned their kits.
“I mailed them out, but once they put the rubbing alcohol in, they couldn’t mail them back,” Duennes said. “Trying to get the samples back was a huge challenge.”
In 2024, the project’s reach expanded as Duennes utilized 26 drop-off points in Allegheny, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties. Of 875 kits sent out last year, 20% were returned. In search of a more improved process, Duennes found that propylene glycol will preserve DNA and is not flammable.
“This year, since the kits aren’t hazardous, we can do it anywhere,” she said. “So, anybody from any state that has spotted lanternflies can participate and we’ll send them a kit.”
With the 2022 genetic data in hand, SVC senior biology major Jack Sassani of New Kensington is currently conducting a senior research project collecting data from the 2023 and 2024 samples for comparative purposes.
To order a kit or for more information, visit the SLFIA's square site.
Participants will receive a 50-milliliter leakproof tube with 25 milliliters of propylene glycol for DNA preservation; a data collection sheet for writing down the collection date, location and other information; a guide for identifying males and females; an absorbent pad; and a biohazard bag required for sending the samples back to SVC.
For shipped kits, a return shipping label is provided so participants can place the label on the outside of the box and send it back through the United States Postal Service to get the samples back to the College.
To help cover the costs of kits, there is a $10 charge for shipping and a return label.
Those who have participated in prior years will not be charged for shipping. Prospective participants can also pick up and return a kit at Saint Vincent College (this option is also available on the Square site).
