D3123: Composition and ultrastructure of spotted lanternfly-associated sooty mold across plant hosts in Pennsylvania

Sooty mold, a dark fungal mat which grows on leaf surfaces exposed to honeydew, plays a major role in the damage that Spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula: Hemiptera) causes in forest, ornamental, and agricultural landscapes. However, the causal fungus (or fungi) of Spotted lanternfly-related sooty mold is not known, and in the United States the range of severity of sooty mold has been broad and unpredictable. To determine the causal fungi of sooty mold, and to investigate whether the composition of those fungi is consistent across Spotted lanternfly-affected plants, or is influenced by plant species, successional forces, or geographic range, we collected weekly samples of sooty mold from multiple plant species across Pennsylvania during the adult stage of the insect. We then examined the colony morphology and ultrastructure of samples by light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy to characterize the composition of sooty mold in these samples, and to explore the variables that determine it. Though the fungal colonies of Spotted lanternfly sooty molds are heterogeneous, a species of Trichomerium can be found in all samples collected to date. This indicates that while the whole community may vary across several interactive factors, this species of Trichomerium is central in the formation of sooty mold symptomology in relation to Spotted lanternfly.