LANSING, Mich. — After issuing a warning in April that Michigan residents should be on the lookout for the spotted lanternfly, dead cases of the invasive species have been found in the state.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said the dead insects were found in the last few weeks, but there is no evidence that live lanternflies are in the state yet.
MDARD said in a release that the dead cases were found in in shipments from out of state.
The spotted lanternfly is native to China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and has already spread to Japan and South Korea as well as the U.S., where it first appeared in 2014. Beginning in southeastern Pennsylvania, the insect has spread quickly into Delaware, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, West Virginia, Connecticut, and Ohio.
