This Grand Junction businessman just reached the most amazing milestone anyone could ever hope for. After a lengthy cancer battle, he's now celebrating being two years cancer free.
It isnât a question of if, but when the Spotted Lanternfly will land on Colorado and other parts of the West.
Thatâs the dire warning from entomologists locally and nationwide, who say that this invasive, plant-hopping insect that can grow rather large and has no natural enemies cannot only damage the stateâs forests, but devastate its crops as well, particularly the regionâs grape vines and peach trees.
âTheyâre really horrible because they have a piercing, sucking mouth part that acts like a needle that they stick into the plant and suck the life out of it,â said Meredith Shrader, a Grand Junction-based entomologist for Colorado State Universityâs Extension Service.