Watershed & Biodiversity Stewardship at Saunders Woods Preserve: Spotted Lanternfly Taxonomy

Domain: Eukarya

- Containing a membrane bound nucleus and other organelle such as mitochondria/chloroplast, and chromosomes during mitosis and cytokinesis. Contains the kingdoms of Animalia, Plantae, and Fungi. The two other domains are Archaea and Bacteria.

Kingdom: Animalia

- Eukaryotic & multicellular organisms without cell walls. Ingestion to obtain sustenance, locomotion, cells forming tissues, aerobic respiration (requiring oxygen), and sexual reproduction are further characteristics with a few exceptions.

Phylum: Arthropoda

- Invertebrate organisms with an exoskeleton, segmented body, bilateral symmetry, jointed appendages, and an open circulatory system where hemolymph provides transportation of immunity cells, nutrients, and hormones.

Class: Insecta (>900,000 species)

- Insects are organisms with chitin exoskeletons, a body composed of three segments (head, thorax, abdomen), three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and a pair of antennae. Respiration occurs via the tracheal system with air entering and exiting spiracles on body. They hatch from eggs and many undergo molts and/or metamorphoses.

Order: Hemiptera (>80,000 species)

- Mouthparts specialized for piercing and sucking, either for extracting sap from plants, blood, or feeding on invertebrate prey. They are hemimetabolous which means incomplete metamorphosis; they do not have a pupal stage but rather go from egg to nymph to adult.

Suborder: Auchenorrhyncha (>42,000 species)

- Includes cicadas and hoppers. All members feed on plants, many produce vibrations varying in sound level for communication, and many are capable of powerful leaps. Morphological features differing them from the rest of the Hemiptera order include mouthparts arising from the back of the head, short antennae, and different segment structure of hind legs.

Infraorder: Fulgoromorpha (>12,500 species)

- This group of organisms is more commonly referred to as ‘planthoppers,’ because they hop, feed on, and in many cases, resemble plants in appearance. Morphological differentiations characteristic of this group include specific Y-shaped veins in wings.

Family: Fulgoridae (716 species)

- Also referred to as lanternflies. Organisms in this family contain the presence of a variety of bright colors, and many have an elongated head shaped like a long nose. These features resulted in their name. Subfamily: Aphaeninae

Genus: Lycorma (4 species)

- Native to Asia, specifically China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, and India. L. delicatula became invasive in South Korea, Japan, and the United States in the 2000’s. “Lyc” translates to lamp in latin which is where the name is derived from due to their colorful hind wings. Members of this genus also include L. imperialis (I), L. olivacae (J), & L. meliae (K).

Species: Lycorma delicatula

- Exhibits many characteristics mentioned above. Feeds on trees and vines with sap. Prefers the tree of heaven from its native region of China, also feeds on fruit and berry trees. Strong jumper, bright colors, egg-nymph-adult progression. See slideshow in previous post for more information.