Dog Trained To Sniff Out Lanternfly Eggs

Dog Trained To Sniff Out Lanternfly Eggs MISCELLANEOUS EQUIPMENT Pest Animals Detecting the eggs of the Spotted Lanternfly is fun for Lucky a German shepherd in Pennsylvania who is trained to sniff out the destructive insects in orchards Christmas tree farms vineyards and other high-value crops The Asia-native invasive planthopper was first discovered in 2014 in Berks County Penn The Spotted Lanternfly feeds on sap and excretes a sugary waste that builds up and grows sooty mold and fungi that damages the wood and affects production on smaller trees The best way to stop the spread is to find and destroy eggs that are laid in the fall That’s where the PennVet Working Dog Center got involved says Jennifer Essler PhD a postdoctoral researcher who helped lead the project and assisted with the training Under a grant she and other trainers worked with 3 dogs at the center to detect the eggs “Once we did the research and showed they could do it then we trained Lucky ” she says “The eggs are really small and 50 to 60 will measure about 1 1/2 to 2-in long and 1-in wide They turn brown and flat so they are hard to see on bark ” Since the eggs are on surfaces in the open air the odor doesn’t collect so the trainers realized they had to slow the dogs down to methodically search nurseries greenhouses logging areas trucks and other areas where the eggs are commonly found “For them it’s just a game ” Essler says of the dogs When they find eggs some dogs respond by sitting and are given food treats Lucky freezes in place and gets a toy for her reward The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture put Lucky to work last November and she will be out working again this fall When she finds eggs her handler scrapes them into a glass jar of alcohol Contact: FARM SHOW Followup PennVet Working Dog Center 3401 Grays Ferry Ave Bldg 470 Philadelphia Penn 19146 ph 215-898-2200; wdcinfo@vet upenn edu; www vet upenn edu

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