Evidence of Pheromone Use in a Fulgorid, Spotted Lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) is a polyphagous, phloem-feeding invasive forest, agricultural, and nuisance pest that rapidly spreading through the U.S. Little known about how fulgorids locate each other to mate. To determine if conspecific semiochemicals such as pheromones occur, whole body extracts (WBE) of adult lanternflies from different physiological states were tested for attraction in dual-choice olfactometer. In olfactometer assays, prior mating, males oriented WBE females. During their mating period, attracted females, but not males. After oviposition had taken place, either male or female extracts. Conversely, females did orient any sex during state. These behavioral responses by conspecifics suggest possible presence an aggregation-sex pheromone lanternfly.