Lanternflies in the U.S. (the spotted lanternfly everyone talks about) originally come from Asia, especially China and nearby countries like Vietnam and India.

Quick Scoop

Where they’re originally from

  • The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula , is native to subtropical parts of China and other areas of East and Southeast Asia.
  • Government and extension sources list its native range as China, India, Vietnam, Taiwan, and nearby regions.

How they ended up here

  • They are considered an invasive “hitchhiking” pest in the United States, not something that evolved here naturally.
  • Evidence suggests they likely arrived as egg masses stuck to imported materials (like stone or other goods) shipped from Asia into Pennsylvania around 2012.
  • The first confirmed U.S. infestation was found in Berks County, Pennsylvania, in 2014.

How they spread so fast

  • Females lay eggs on almost any hard surface: stones, trucks, pallets, outdoor furniture, trains, etc., so they move easily with human transport.
  • From that initial foothold in Pennsylvania, they’ve spread through much of the Northeastern U.S. and are now established or detected in many eastern states, with a potential range across most of the eastern U.S. and some western valleys.

Simple story version

They started out as a normal insect in parts of Asia, living with natural predators and parasites that kept them in check.

A few egg masses likely rode to Pennsylvania on imported goods.

Once here, with no natural enemies and lots of suitable plants, their populations exploded and they began spreading from state to state.

TL;DR: When people ask “where did lanternflies come from,” the answer is: they’re native to East and Southeast Asia (especially China), and they reached the U.S. accidentally on imported goods, first showing up in Pennsylvania around 2014.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.