Winemakers are seeing red.
An invasive insect species now poses “a serious threat” to America’s wine supplies, vino experts warn.
Eggs of the oversized spotted lanternfly — which have been running amock in New York to the point that the state government has told people to kill them on sight — were stowed away in a California wine country-bound shipment from the Empire State last March.
Before reaching its Sonoma County destination, officials spotted this first-ever lanternfly sighting in California at a check station north of Lake Tahoe just west of the Nevada border.
They were found on board a 30-foot metal art installation sent across the country — vehicular travel is one of their most common forms of spreading.
In total, about 41 masses of eggs, which typically resemble patches of mud cakes, were seen.
Although this happened a few months ago, the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) is currently sounding the alarm.
They fear that more bug eggs have entered California undetected and will soon mature into buzzing adults with “the potential to affect the entire winegrape industry.”
“Spotted lanternflies have been found in 18 states and have proven to pose a serious threat to vineyards,” warned Natalie Collins, President of the California Association of Winegrape Growers.
Specifically, the flies feed on grapevine sap and leave behind a sticky, harmful residue on the wine plant’s leaves.
“Their activities stress the plants, decrease vine health, and in some cases, can lead to plant death.”
The California Department of Agriculture also warns how crucial it is to nip these bugs, which first reached Pennsylvania from Asia in 2014, in the bud right away.
“Early detection is critical to prevent economic and ecological losses,” according to the agency. “The public will play a key role in detecting spotted lanternfly and the success of stopping its spread.”
Now, Collins wants to spread the word — adults will likely take form in July — to keep wineries and vineyards out of the pour house.
“This is essentially a public service announcement to raise awareness of how to identify a spotted lanternfly and the immediate action to take if discovered,” she said.
