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Invasive Spotted Lanternfly Egg Masses Found in Maine

Spotted lanternfly adults. (Image: Sarah Scally, Assistant Horticulturist, Maine DACF) 

 

AUGUSTA – The Maine Department of Agricultural, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) announced finding egg masses of the invasive spotted lanternfly (SLF) on trees in Maine communities and is urging residents to report any sign of the invasive pest. The egg masses were found on trees from Pennsylvania, where SLF is established and planted in Boothbay, Freeport, Northeast Harbor, and Yarmouth.

DACF urges anyone who received goods or materials, such as plants, landscaping materials, or outdoor furniture, from a state with a known SLF infestation to carefully check the materials, including any packaging, for signs of SLF. There are currently known populations of SLF in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia.

If any life stages of SLF are found, residents should take a photo or collect the specimen and report any pest potential sightings to bugwatch@maine.gov. Residents should look for large, gray insects, about one inch long, with black spots and red underwings, or inch-long, rectangular yellowish-brown egg masses covered with a gray waxy coating. Egg masses may be found on any flat surface.

“These most recent finds call attention to the fact that there are many ways that spotted lanternfly can travel here from other states,” said State Horticulturist, Gary Fish. “Early detection plays an important role in the protection of our state’s economic and ecological resources from invasive species, and we ask anyone who may have received shipments of wood, ornamental plants, or any other materials from Pennsylvania or other Northeastern states to help protect the natural resources and agricultural industries of Maine by checking for and reporting any signs of spotted lanternfly.”

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive sap-feeding insect from Asia first found in the United States in 2014, in Pennsylvania. While the preferred host plant of this pest is tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima), spotted lanternfly attacks over 100 species of trees, shrubs, and vines, and has the potential to impact a broad range of agricultural commodities, including apples, peaches, grapes/wine, maple syrup, as well as the ornamental nursery industry.

As many families across the state spend more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic and are undertaking activities such as gardening to improve their outdoor spaces, Maine has seen an increase in purchases of items such as outdoor furniture, play structures, gazebos, as well as trees and shrubs for landscaping. When shipped from areas with SLF infestations, these products, and the vehicles used for transportation, can unintentionally carry the pest into new areas.

Because no live SLF has been found in Maine, there is currently no evidence that SLF has become established. The DACF Horticulture Program has inspected all the suspect trees and asks the homeowners and landscape companies to keep an eye on the areas where egg masses were found to confirm that no live populations are present. Spotted lanternfly has not previously been found in Maine. 

Photo: Spotted lanternfly egg mass. Credit Sarah Scally, Assistant Horticulturist, Maine DACF) 

 

A spotted lanternfly nymph (immature). The 4th instar has red and black patches with white spots. (Image: Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org) 

 

A spotted lanternfly nymph (immature). Instars 1-3 are black with white spots. (Image: Lawrence Barringer, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org)

 

For more information about the spotted lanternfly, please visit: https://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/caps/slf/index.shtml

If you have seen any of the life stages of this insect in Maine, please report it: bugwatch@maine.gov.

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TRUMP AND BIDEN TO MEET IN FIRST DEBATE TONIGHT AT 9PM!

President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden will meet tonight (September 29th) in the first of their three presidential debates, being held on the campus of the Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there will be no traditional pre-debate handshake and the audience will be limited to just 75 to 80 people, all of whom will be tested beforehand. The 90-minute debate will run from 9:00pm to 10:30 p.m. ET and be aired on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and C-SPAN, as well as on several streaming platforms. The vice presidential debate is next on October 7th between Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris, and then Trump and Biden will debate again on October 15th and 22nd. 

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Feel Good Story of The Week – Bank Manager Finds Giant Diamond in State Park

(Photo provided by Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas – courtesy of CNN)

 

A bank manager in Little Rock, named Kevin Kinard, discovered a huge 9.07-carat diamond at a state park in southwestern Arkansas. At first, he thought it was a piece of glass, but turns out it was the second-largest diamond in the 48-year history of Crater of Diamonds State Park. The park is known for its diamonds, though; 245 have been registered at just that park alone.

For the full story click here.

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New Hampshire to Receive Supplies from US FDA to Conduct 25,000 Rapid Antigen COVID-19 Tests per Week

Concord, NH – The State of New Hampshire will soon be able to conduct an additional 25,000 COVID-19 rapid antigen tests per week as a result of the new shipment of Abbott BinaxNOW Rapid-Antigen COVID-19 tests distributed in the State as part of the US Food and Drug Administration’s effort to increase rapid COVID-19 testing across the nation. These rapid antigen test cards will be placed in community testing sites around the state to support symptomatic individuals that are in need of a quick test, including in-person school settings, frontline healthcare workers, emergency responders and other high-risk populations.
 
“The BINAX test will allow the state to significantly ramp up testing in a targeted fashion — specifically for students and vulnerable populations,” said Governor Chris Sununu.  “The rapid results will make decisions much easier for parents and educators.” 
 
The BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Test can be used by laboratories that have Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) certification. The State will distribute these tests to the 20 community testing sites established to support COVID-19 testing in New Hampshire, as well as National Guard drive-through testing locations. BinaxNOW cards are being placed in these locations because they were established to support individuals who are experiencing symptoms associated with COVID-19.
 
“As more and more residents return to school, work and other communal settings, residents experiencing symptoms will have greater access to rapid results to quickly determine whether they have COVID-19,” said Lori Shibinette, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. “Community transmission of the new coronavirus continues to occur throughout the state and we do not want symptomatic people going to a school or place of work to get a test and potentially exposing others. The BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen tests will be located in our already established community testing locations because they have procedures in place to avoid additional exposures.”
 
“New Hampshire schools have worked hard to get students back to school safely,” said Frank Edelblut, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Education. “Increased rapid testing will greatly benefit these ongoing efforts, as well as assist schools responding to cases in their communities.”
 
Each BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen testing kit will include a nasal swab and results are available in 15 minutes. It is anticipated that the BinaxNOW tests will be available at community testing locations in the next few weeks. The FDA expects New Hampshire will receive supplies to conduct as many as 400,000 rapid tests by the end of the year.
 
For information on availability of the BinaxNOW Rapid Antigen Test as well as other testing options, please click here.

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Hiking Fatality in the White Mountains

On Saturday, September 26th shortly before 7:00 PM New Hampshire Fish and Game was notified that a hiker had fallen from Arethusa Falls and sustained life ending injuries.  The hiker was with two friends.  He went ahead of them on the trail to the top of the falls.  When they arrived at the falls they found the body of their friend.  There is no cell phone service in the area.  They ran out and placed a call to 911 from a home near the trailhead.  Along with Conservation Officers members of Bartlett Jackson Ambulance and Androscoggin Valley Search and Rescue responded. 

The trail to the falls is nearly two miles and the average height of the falls is 70 feet.  Rescuers carried the man out in a litter and arrived at the trailhead shortly before 11:00 PM.  No further information about the victim or those involved is available at this time and is pending until family members can be notified.

Source: NH Fish and Game Press Release

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Arrests Made in Connection with Murder in Coos County

Concord, NH – New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan A. Noyes announce that arrests were made on Thursday, September 24 and Friday, September 25, 2020, in connection with the murder of Jonathan Amerault, age 25, whose body was discovered in Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant in Coos County, New Hampshire on Tuesday, September 22, 2020.

On September 24, 2020, an autopsy was conducted by New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jennie V. Duval.  Dr. Duval determined that the cause of Jonathan Amerault’s death as, gunshot wound to the head, and that the manner of death is homicide. 

Armando Barron, age 30, of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, was arrested on Friday, September 25, 2020, and charged with capital murder for knowingly causing the death of Jonathan Amerault by shooting him while engaged in the commission of a kidnapping.  Investigators have determined that Armando Barron lured Jonathan Amerault to Annette Wayside Park in Rindge, New Hampshire in the overnight hours between Saturday, September 19, 2020, and Sunday, September 20, 2020.  Pursuant to RSA 630:1, I(b) a person is guilty of capital murder if he knowingly causes the death of another before, after, while engaged in the commission of, or while attempting to commit kidnapping as that offense is defined in RSA 633:1.

In addition, Britany Barron, age 31, of Jaffrey, New Hampshire, was arrested on Thursday, September 24, 2020, and charged, with three counts of falsifying physical evidence in conjunction with Jonathan Amerault’s murder for altering, destroying, concealing, or removing items of physical evidence when she believed an investigation was pending or about to be instituted with a purpose to impair their verity or availability.  Britany Barron is Armando Barron’s spouse.

The charges and allegations set forth in the complaints are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: NH State Police Press Release

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Suspicious Death Investigation in Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant in Coos County

Concord, NH — New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Nathan A. Noyes announce that officials are investigating a suspicious death. The deceased was discovered late yesterday afternoon in the unincorporated area of Atkinson and Gilmanton Academy Grant in Coos County, New Hampshire. 

At this time, it is believed that the deceased is Jonathan Amerault (age 25) of Keene, New Hampshire.  Mr. Amerault was reported missing on September 21, 2020.

An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow, September 24, 2020. 

Based on the information currently known to investigators, there does not appear to be any danger to the public at this time.

The investigation is ongoing and additional information will be released as it becomes available, while protecting the integrity of the investigation. 

Anyone with any information regarding the whereabouts of Mr. Amerault since Saturday, September 19, 2020, is encouraged to contact New Hampshire State Police at 603-MCU-TIPS (603-628-8477).

Source: NH Attorney General Press Release