The SLFIA is a new project created by Dr. Michelle Duennes at Saint Vincent College and Al McDonnell. With support from student courses and community members, we aim to build a sample collection of this invasive species serving as an “historical record” of their movement. While their recent invasion into the United States is far from welcomed, it offers a rare opportunity to study and record the spread of an invasive species from the very beginning. 

To launch this study, participants will be asked to collect samples of Spotted Lanternfly every year in the same location. Dr. Duennes’ students collect samples on and near the campus of Saint Vincent College. Community partners will collect samples at their homes, properties, or schools. We hope to have participants collect behavioral and life history data and potentially test out trapping methods in the future, but for these first few years we will be focusing on collecting male and female adult samples to build a base record of their distribution. 

Spotted lanternfly samples are stored in a growing collection housed at Saint Vincent College. Samples are stored in ethanol in a temperature-controlled cold room so they can be used for DNA research and studies of morphology (changes in body features).

It is our hope that, with our students and researchers from a variety of institutions, we will use this archival collection to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the success of invasive species as well as how Spotted Lanternfly might adapt and evolve over time to their new and unique environments in the United States.