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As far as flying insects go, the lanternfly has a pretty charm to it. Its spotted wings come in a rich tricolor flavor of gray, red, and black. Its flight through the air is carefree and slow. And their gathering on any number of trees is a reminder of the dense community of organisms that surround us every day.
But lanternflies are also dangerous as hell for the crops that produce our fruit, and trees that sustain our ecosystems. They sustain themselves on sap and produce honeydew as a waste product, which encourages the growth of sooty mold on whatever plant it’s deposited on. The fungal disease can quickly wreak havoc on the planet’s health. Since lanternflies often crowd in large numbers on trees and plants, it results in a lot of excreted honeydew—and the enormous devastation and even death for these plants.
But scientists may have just found a secret weapon to harness against the lanternflies: their own sugary poop.