TOMS RIVER, NJ – It was supposed to be the summer when spotted lantern flies were expected to decimate gardens and forests across New Jersey.
But it hasn’t happened and thankfully, too late in the summer to start. This year, spotted lantern flies are out and about across New Jersey, just not in the numbers predicted prior to the summer.
The observed decline in spotted lanternfly populations in New Jersey may be attributed to several factors, including extreme weather conditions and their impact on host plants, according to Rutgers entomologist George Hamilton.
