Spotted lanternfly egg masses typically contain 30 to 50 eggs and can be deposited on trees, rocks, outdoor equipment, and other surfaces, making them difficult to spot during inspections. In a 2025 study published in PeerJ , Sally Dickinson and colleagues investigated whether companion dogs with scent-detection training could help identify the eggs and support efforts to limit the insect’s spread. Dogs may be able to detect these hidden egg masses by scent, even when they are not visible to inspectors.
The invasive planthopper faces fewer natural enemies in parts of the United States where it has established populations and feeds on grapevines, hops, and ornamental plants, posing a threat to agriculture and other vegetation. Its egg masses can adhere to wood, stone, and other materials that people transport, allowing the insect to spread to new areas. their limited numbers can restrict their availability Although specially trained detection dogs are already used to locate spotted lanternfly eggs. The researchers explored whether companion dogs could help expand detection efforts. Training used frozen egg masses rather than live specimens. Owners then spent three to six months teaching their dogs to recognize the scent, without following a single prescribed training method. The results showed that some companion dogs could detect the egg masses under controlled and field conditions. This means the dogs detected the eggs in slightly more than half of the instances in which they were present. Wind and temperature were not significantly associated with test success.
Native to parts of Asia, including China and Vietnam, the spotted lanternfly was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014, likely after arriving on a shipment of landscaping stone. Researchers collected spotted lanternfly eggs at the Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Winchester, Virginia, and stored them at minus 80 degrees Celsius for at least 30 days to render them nonviable. They placed 0.5 grams of the treated eggs in stainless steel mesh packets, sealed the packets in Mylar bags, and shipped them to trainers. In the box test, 77 of 104 team attempts met the passing criteria. Dogs detected the eggs in 82% of trials in which they were present, and 87% of their alerts were correct. The field test was more challenging, with a sensitivity of 58%. However, 56 of the 66 field-test attempts passed, and 91% of the dogs’ alerts were correct.
Participation declined substantially during the study. Many participants withdrew before completing their first test, often citing scheduling difficulties and time constraints. The dogs and handlers also had trouble identifying when no eggs were present. They sometimes took longer to respond or incorrectly alerted to a distractor. In addition, the researchers did not compare field-test outcomes between teams that passed the box test and those that failed, leaving it unclear whether performance in the controlled setting predicted success outdoors.
only 104 attempts were recorded for the box test, and 24 teams were available for the live-egg trial Although 182 teams enrolled.
