Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

My project began when I was hiking in the park adjacent to my house, and noticed foreign insects enveloping segments of trees. Gray with striking red markings, they resembled moths. Although my knowledge of invasives was limited at the time, I was able to confirm it as the invasive spotted lanternfly.

My discovery came about during the early months of my environmental science class. I applied newly learned concepts to my investigation, specifically Integrated Pest Management, which led to lots of experimenting in the park. I frequented the park with plastic bottles, Ziploc bags, and various concoctions that had potential to work.

I started consulting online entomology forums and teachers for answers to what was causing a spread in such a high degree. Leading to my revelation that the invasive Tree of Heaven--the lanternflies' main food source--was present in the park decades prior to the lanternfly. This sparked an onslaught of new questions and ideas. Which should be eliminated first? Were the flies slowing the spread of the tree, or was the tree intensifying the spread of the fly?

My questions soon began to push further than what any web browser could offer, so I began emailing fruit tree and invasive professors at Penn State, the heart of the lanternfly apocalypse. They confirmed the flies are the bigger immediate problem, and sent research papers on pesticides they found to be effective--pesticides containing bifenthrin, which are extremely toxic to bees and other native pollinators.

Since there is still no publicly marketed pesticide that can kill them without killing other native species, the current way to eliminate their population is to "smash them" or "stomp them out". Killing them individually is not only time consuming, but it also requires a considerable number of people to be effective. This leads to a significant issue: finding people willing to spend their hours in the wilderness killing bugs--or, if they're lucky, scraping their eggs off of trees. This year I was given leadership of the Students for Environmental Action organization at my school, where I was able to combine my need for people with the members' need for community service hours. While many looked a bit squeamish when the idea was first proposed, their critical need for service hours took priority. Events consist of meeting at a local park with an identified lanternfly issue, and depending on the season, scraping their eggs or capturing the insects. We are able to combine this new activity with the club's old activities, like plastic water bottle collections, except with a new purpose. Now they will be used as egg scrapers and containers to capture the hatched insects. Although not a permanent solution to eradicating the pest, "stomp outs" are slowing the pest's spread, a crucial step towards expunging them from the area. Even more important than the eradication of insects, the events unite the community in environmental pursuits.

Though I am still without my holy grail pesticide, the park and its infestation has given me a place to bring environmental science beyond the classroom, and connect with masters who have made it their career. Above all, it has given me a direction moving forward. My ongoing battle with lanternflies can seem trivial--even comical at times, but it has taught me that oftentimes there will be no one else willing to protect the places most special to us, so we must protect them ourselves.