Parneet Kaur, FCLC 2027

Major: Natural Science

Bio: My name is Parneet Kaur, and I'm from Long Island, NY. I'm a junior at FCLC majoring in Natural Science and minoring in Marketing. I am interested in pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant.

Title of Research: Understanding Public Perception of Stomping Spotted Lanternflies

Mentor: Ellen van Wilgenburg, Natural Sciences

Abstract: The Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive planthopper native to China that was first detected in the United States in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since rapidly expanded its range across the northeastern United States. There have been extensive public outreach campaigns encouraging citizens to "stomp" adult lanternflies and scrape egg masses. However, limited research has examined public knowledge, attitudes, and behavioral responses to these management recommendations. We surveyed 485 residents in areas with established spotted lanternfly populations to assess public engagement with recommended management practices. 92% of respondents reported stomping adults, primarily motivated by environmental concern (77%). While 82% believed killing lanternflies was ethically appropriate, only 43% thought stomping effectively controlled spread. We show that stomping behavior was significantly more common among 25-34 year-olds than other age groups, but was not related to gender, information sources, or conformity tendencies. We found that substantial knowledge gaps existed regarding egg scraping: 41% of respondents had never heard you should scrape egg masses, only 42% could identify egg masses and just 16% had scraped egg masses. Of the participants who did not previously know about egg masses, 60% said they would be willing to scrape them in the future after receiving basic information. These results show that while most people already stomp lanternflies, encouraging more effective actions depends on more targeted education about identifying and scraping egg masses.