This month, we asked you to scare our staff with your most terrifying two-sentence horror stories. We received tons of submissions—imaginative, evocative, spine-tingling, funny, and tragic. Truly, you captured the spirit of the season. Below are the top 10 stories we read, which will be performed by the actors at Live Arts. (Check our social media for the video this month.)
First place
She leaned in and tenderly kissed him good night, just as she had done each night since their wedding day. She whispered her promise to stay together always, then pulled away and once again closed the freezer door. By Marshall Thompson
Runners up
The driver wasn’t chatty so I checked my phone. “hey it’s your uber driver I’m outside.” By Musahar Ali
The rasp of his breathing breaks the silence of the bedroom, a halting rhythm from the other side of the bed. That sound has comforted me for decades, but I buried him this morning. By Sam Giannangeli
“Henry, dear, I added wild mushrooms to the salad! Henry?” By Dawn Peters
Trump won. Again. By Ariel Zwelling
“MY GOSH!” screamed the vampire. “I’ve never seen so much blood!” By Marion Ross
“It’s not like me to forget things,” she thought, drifting off to sleep. Under cover of night the solitary cockroach crept into her ear and out through her nose, snacking along the way. By Mark Cave
The glass mirror thumps as you punch it, but you can’t break it. You’re stuck inside forever, and all you can do is scream. By Dei Figueroa
Your student loans don’t qualify for forgiveness. Also, we need half the payment in the next few weeks. By Shantana Blake
I’ve been married 57 years. I’VE BEEN MARRIED 57 YEARS!!! By Gladys Brown
Thirteen-year-old Zayla and 11-year-old Beautiful Christmas have been missing since July 21. Photo: ACPD.
By Lauren Dalban and Brielle Entzminger
On July 21, 11-year-old Beautiful and 13-year-old Zayla Christmas went missing from their home in Albemarle County. Both sisters are Black females with brown eyes. Zayla is 4-foot-11 and 115 pounds, and was last seen wearing her hair in a long brown ponytail extending down to her ankles. Beautiful is 4-foot-4 and 140 pounds, and was last seen with black and pink braids.
In a tweet on August 8, the Albemarle County Police Department announced that it had reclassified the Christmas girls’ disappearance as a runaway case. The department asserted that “an out-of-state family member, of the girls, shared with ACPD that they know their location and that the girls are safe.” However, the department has provided little additional information to the sisters’ family, increasing their worry and frustration for nearly three months, according to family member Myra Anderson.
In an open letter to the ACPD shared with C-VILLE on September 28, Anderson—who is the cousin of the sisters’ guardian, Cristal Christmas—criticized the department for its lack of transparency, and pushed for answers to a list of questions. Anderson and Christmas declined to speak with C-VILLE for this story.
“My understanding is that a Detective from your department (Lavin) has confirmed that the girls had been [sighted] in Richmond, VA, and Henderson, NC,” wrote Anderson in her letter. “If this is true, why has there been no public update on the case? If folks in these locations knew the girls were missing, they could be on [the] lookout for them and alert authorities if they are [sighted].”
In response to the ACPD’s August 8 tweet, Anderson claimed that “no one” in their family has seen or heard from the sisters since the day they disappeared. She also questioned why the department has not charged Corneesha Powell, the “out-of-state family member” who the sisters are with, or publicly announced the warrant allegedly issued for Powell in relation to the case.
“How could you take someone’s word that the girls are safe without seeing or speaking with the girls yourself?” asked Anderson. “How can you be sure they are not being trafficked? Zayla has been without medication for over two months.”
In a public Facebook post on July 26, Powell, who claims to be the sisters’ biological mother, admitted to facing criminal charges in relation to the case, and claimed she was “protecting what [she] birthed” from alleged abuse.
“To present day Zayla runs away because Cristal verbally abused her telling her that myself and her father don’t love her [and] we abandoned her. Threatened to throw her in a fireplace and physically hit [her],” wrote Powell. “So Zayla started running away … unbeknownst to me this verbal and emotional abuse turned to [Beautiful] when Zayla would run away.”
“So now they have both [run] away and I now [have] the full story to all verbal, mental, emotional, and physical abuse,” added Powell. “So no I will not tell them where my children are and if I have to go to jail because of it then so be it.”
Zayla previously went missing on May 20 and was reported as a runaway. The ACPD announced that she had been found on June 7.
According to the Black and Missing Foundation, children of color who go missing are more likely to be classified as runaways, even when case details suggest otherwise. This often means that Amber Alerts are not sent out for these children, and they receive less news coverage.
“I am feeling like this case … is not being given much attention [or] being taken seriously? Two months is a very long time for two young girls to still be missing,” wrote Anderson in the conclusion of her letter, pushing the ACPD to offer a reward for information related to the case. “I feel like if this were two little white girls missing, your department would have found them by now, or at a minimum provided more [updates] to the public.”
In a statement to C-VILLE on October 14, the ACPD maintained that it is still searching for the young girls.
“In August, we received and verified information confirming the sisters were safe,” said the department. “The Christmas sisters remain a priority for ACPD and we continue to actively investigate this case along with partners in other jurisdictions.”
Anyone with information regarding the missing sisters should contact Detective Lavin at 296-5807, or Crime Stoppers at 977-4000 or crimestoppers@albemarle.org.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s proposed transgender student policy prompted members of UVA’s Sigma Omicron Rho fraternity to form the Virginia Collegiate Queer Collective with three other queer organizations at the university. Supplied photo.
Since Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration announced its proposed transgender student policy on September 16, thousands of students, parents of transgender children, and LGBTQ+ activists and supporters across the state have protested against it.
The threat of increased suicides among transgender youth pushed Sigma Omicron Rho, the University of Virginia’s only queer and gender-inclusive fraternity, to take immediate action.
“When we saw these policies, [Sigma Omicron Rho] sat down as an organization and asked ourselves if we would have lived through this policy—and a lot of us weren’t sure. Because a lot of us come out of homes that it would not have been safe for us to be out in those homes,” says third-year student Oliver Lesher, who is transgender. “A lot of us had to wait until college to even begin our transitions.”
“To us, this was a life or death issue,” he adds.
On September 20, Sigma Omicron Rho partnered with three other queer organizations at UVA—the Queer Student Union, Lambda Law Alliance, and oSTEM—to form the Virginia Collegiate Queer Collective, combining their resources, efforts, and numbers to fight the governor’s policy and other anti-queer legislation in the state. Since then, two queer organizations at the University of Richmond have also joined the collective. The group is currently in negotiations with around seven queer organizations at other universities across the state, including George Mason, Christopher Newport, and Virginia State.
UVA has more queer organizations than many other Virginia schools, so “we wanted to use that privileged position to foster a sense of leadership and community,” explains Lesher, VCQC’s outreach director.
Youngkin’s controversial policy would force transgender students to participate in school programing and use facilities based on the sex they were assigned at birth. School staff would also be prohibited from referring to transgender students by their preferred name and pronouns unless a parent submits legal documentation of their gender identity, and requests in writing that their child’s name and gender be changed on official school records. Even with parental permission, staff would not be required to use a student’s name and pronouns if it goes against their beliefs.
“With these policies, no trans kid will be able to safely live their truth, [or] come out to their families when they’re ready to,” says Lesher. “The idea that these kids now won’t have a safe space at home and at school, it’s devastating.”
Over the past month, the collective has hosted two public comment workshops at UVA for law school and undergraduate students, educating them on the importance of public comments, and providing frameworks for them to use to write their own comment. The group plans to host another workshop at the medical school.
“Once I think the model policies inevitably get adapted, then we’re also going to start shifting our focus to empowering people to make public comments at school board meetings when model policies are up for adoption at that level,” says Spencer Haydary, VCQC’s legal/policy director and a UVA law student.
Members are currently meeting with LGBTQ+ centers across Virginia—with a focus on those in rural areas that do not receive as much support as those in bigger cities—and planning fundraisers to help provide centers with critical resources, in collaboration with the ACLU, Equality Virginia, Side by Side, and other LGBTQ+ state organizations.
“All of the rights that we have as cisgender gay people are because of the work of Black and brown trans people,” says Haydary. “Governor Youngkin and the Republican party have made it very, very clear that they are going after us one by one as a community—and so we need to stop it here.”
The policy’s 30-day public comment period will end on October 26, after which the state superintendent will decide whether or not to approve the policy.
Three months after a dispute between the Montpelier Foundation Board and the Montpelier Descendants Committee was resolved with the historic installation of 11 new foundation board members recommended by the committee, an invitation to musical superstar Lizzo has put the historic property back in international news for a decidedly more entertaining reason.
“It was a tremendous moment, a beautifully rich moment, where Lizzo kind of bridged so many different areas of history and the present,” says foundation board chair James French of Lizzo’s late September performance on James Madison’s crystal flute at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
The flute is believed to have been a spontaneous gift to Madison from a Parisian flute maker in 1813, Montpelier’s Director of Museum Programs Hilarie Hicks told WINA. Hicks says the flute is engraved in French with Madison’s name and title, and was likely played by guests at Montpelier during Madison’s life. It was passed on to Madison’s wife and son, and later displayed at museums including the Smithsonian before a later owner left it in his will to the Library of Congress in 1941.
While French said there are no concrete plans yet for Lizzo to perform at Montpelier, morale among the estate’s board and staff is already high after the months of tension and uncertainty earlier this year. The archaeological work at the estate is continuing, and other changes are also underway including the expansion of the annual commemoration of the Constitution from a single day, September 17, to the entire month.
French says the new board will meet in person for the first time in November, and he’s optimistic about the future.
“We have the unique power of place where the Constitution itself was conceived along with a difficult, paradoxical history in which it was conceived. But the context of slavery and in looking at that history in a full way, we believe that we can offer the nation an extended, honest conversation about where we came from and how we move forward to reconcile and explore the strengths of our democracy.”
PCOB director resigns
After just one year on the job, Charlottesville Police Oversight Board Executive Director Hansel Aguilar said he will resign—the latest in a long line of city leadership departures since 2017. He has accepted a new job as the director of police accountability for the City of Berkeley, California.
The City of Berkeley will pay Aguilar $200,000 annually—twice his starting salary in Charlottesville—as well as a housing and relocation bonus, reports The Daily Progress.
Hansel Aguilar. Supplied photo.
“I think we were able to build some momentum around the police accountability here during my time, and hopefully I was able to contribute to some infrastructure that can be used to continue to work here,” said Aguilar during the PCOB’s October 13 meeting. “It wasn’t an easy decision for sure, [and] I wish the best for the city.”
Aguilar’s resignation comes two weeks after he issued a neutral evaluation of the PCOB’s first case, which determined the Charlottesville Police Department did not “thoroughly, completely, and accurately” investigate the violent arrest of a man experiencing homelessness in 2020. During his tenure, he also helped craft the PCOB’s updated ordinance and proposed operating procedures.
During last week’s meeting, Aguilar said he would provide recommendations to City Council regarding “a path forward,” and urged the councilors to pass the operating procedures so the board can move ahead with outstanding cases.
Aguilar will leave Charlottesville for his new gig on October 21.
In brief
Riggleman goes blue
Former 5th District Republican Rep. Denver Riggleman endorsed 7th District Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger in a campaign ad released on October 10, praising Spanberger for ranking as the fifth-most bipartisan member of Congress. In an interview with The Washington Post about the ad, Riggleman—who has been an outspoken opponent of former pres. Donald Trump’s election fraud claims—criticized Spanberger’s Republican opponent Yesli Vega, a Prince William County supervisor and sheriff’s deputy, for questioning the 2020 presidential election results.
Denver RigglemanAbigail SpanbergerFile photos.
(More) shots fired
On October 15, the Charlottesville Police Department responded to a shots fired incident near the Omni Hotel parking lot at around 5:15pm. Officers discovered a male juvenile with serious injuries, who was taken to the hospital. Another male juvenile victim arrived at the emergency room shortly after the shooting with non-life-threatening injuries. “Two male juveniles were detained in the area and the incident is under investigation,” according to a city press release. On October 16, officers responded to a multiple shots fired call on the 800 block of Hardy Drive. Police found shell casings, but there were no injuries. The incident may be connected to the Omni Hotel shooting. Anyone with information about either incident should contact the CPD at 977-4000.
Downtown gets bathrooms
Two public restrooms will open inside York Place on the Downtown Mall on November 1, announced Charlottesville’s Economic Development Authority during an October 11 meeting. The city has signed a one-year lease with York Place’s owners, who will maintain the restrooms. The downtown transit center’s public restrooms—which have been closed since the pandemic started—will also eventually reopen.
Another Unite the Right?
Maryland Republicans planned to host a Unite the Right rally on October 22, before later changing the name to Maryland United. Event organizers claimed they were not previously aware that the name Unite the Right was associated the infamous deadly 2017 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, and had “no ill intent,” reports The Baltimore Banner.
Lincoln Perry will appear on October 22 at New Dominion Bookshop to launch his debut essay collection Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others. Supplied photo.
Lincoln Perry has been a prominent figure on the Charlottesville art scene since the mid-1980s. An acclaimed muralist with significant work in landscapes, figurative paintings, and sculpture, Perry’s murals grace walls around the country including the Met Life building in St. Louis and at the University of Virginia. “The Student’s Progress,” in UVA’s Old Cabell Hall, follows the journey of a fictional student named Shannon from her undergraduate days into her adulthood when she becomes a professor at the university. Consisting of 29 panels, the piece took 16 years to complete.
Perry first visited Charlottesville in 1970, and returned 15 years later to fill in for Philip Geiger, teaching drawing for a semester at UVA. It was during this time that he met his wife, author Ann Beattie, who was also teaching at UVA. After about a decade, the couple left Charlottesville, but returned in 2001. Both held teaching positions until 2012. They now divide time between Maine, Virginia, and Florida.
C-VILLE caught up with Perry in Maine, where he was fresh off an interview with the local NPR affiliate, to talk about his new book, Seeing Like an Artist: What Artists Perceive in the Art of Others. He will discuss the book at New Dominion Bookshop on the Downtown Mall on Saturday, October 22.
C-VILLE Weekly: I think of you as a painter. Have you always written?
Lincoln Perry: No, in fact, I just came across a notebook I kept in 1981 that’s really badly written. So, somewhere along the line, I think maybe from living with Ann, I must have improved.
I was struck by the quality of your writing. There are numerous beautifully written paragraphs—I loved, in particular, your descriptions of the Bruegels. I also liked the way you integrated modern references and popular culture into your writing, it struck me as akin to what you did with paint in the Cabell Hall mural.
That’s actually interesting. I hadn’t even thought of that.
I would think your narrative talent would serve you well helping you conceive of murals.
Yes. I wish I could do more of them. The hard part is getting the job. I was just a finalist for a courthouse in Alabama. It would have been fun. I enjoy the external collaboration of projects like that.
Are you continuing to write, and if so, how do you balance that with artmaking?
I can only paint for so long and I can only sculpt for so long, or draw for so long. Writing is a way to fill in the chinks between those other bricks.
I love the way the little sketches included in the book make us see the art through your eyes and pay attention to what you are looking at.
Some part of me thought I should make them more diagrammatic, but then I decided that doesn’t do justice to the things, so, I did my best to do copies.
What are you looking for when you look at art?
The book was originally going to be called Stealing from Museums, but the trouble was they thought it would be put in the crime section. But that’s really what it’s about—how painters and potentially non-painters learn to see in different ways. I think a lot of people are intimidated by visual art; they think there’s something they’re supposed to be getting. It’s a visual experience first. Let it wash over you and take pleasure in it. The idea is not to be intimidated or exhausted. It’s best to see some things well as opposed to trying to see everything. When I first went to Italy, I had one of the Blue Guides and I thought, because it was in the book, I had to go see it, and it became insane. Eventually, I realized that you can get more out of less.
I didn’t realize, until I read the book, that you sculpted. Is that something you’ve always done?
That started about 30 years ago. Difficulty interests me. Making a sculpture that’s legible and enticing from 360 degrees as opposed to, say, one view or two views is really difficult. About three years ago I started carving marble, which is ridiculously difficult. It’s almost too much: I feel like, c’mon, I’m too old for this. The stuff weighs a ton and is hard as a rock. But it does make me realize I spend at least as much time in museums looking at sculpture as I do paintings. They have to be seen in the round and, as I say in the book, you really have to be there in “the presence of” in order to read them properly. Which is also true of paintings, more than people know.
Describe a dream art-viewing trip.
A dream trip would be returning to the Villa Valmarana ai Nani in Vicenza, Italy, to see the Tiepolo frescoes. I also want to see Naples again because of the museums there.
As a successful creative person married to a successful creative person, how do you give equal opportunity to your respective practices?
Well, I read everything she writes, but not until she feels it’s done. It’s harder for me to lure her into the studio. She has a very good eye, but she’s really more interested in photography; she takes beautiful photographs—I think she should publish them. Painting’s a little mysterious to her and she wishes I wouldn’t carve marble because I’m getting old and I’ve got arthritis and she wonders what I’m doing this for. I totally respect what she does. I enjoy writing these essays but I cannot imagine writing fiction, and she can’t imagine painting. I suppose there are happy marriages among two painters or two writers, but in our case, it works well that we’re in different fields.
Any upcoming exhibitions?
I’ll be in “Home and Away,” organized by Robert Stuart at the Beverley Street Studio School Gallery in Staunton, which runs from November 18 to January 2.
I hope the last line of the book sums it up. (“This isn’t the anxiety of influence; it’s the joy of influence.”) This is all supposed to be about the joy of influence. Rather than feeling oppressed or confused or intimidated by our tradition, we’re allowed to love it and enjoy it because it’s beautiful. It’s something we’ve done as humans that we can actually be proud of.
Wood-be winners can head to Devils Backbone Brewing Company this weekend to take a cut of the prizes at the Backbone Lumberjack Classic. Supplied photo.
A noodle moove
A new dining spot with a familiar face is moo-ving into the lineup at Dairy Market. Basta Pasta, an original concept kitchen from Dino Hoxha (the chef behind Dairy Market’s Dino’s Wood-fired Pizza & Grill) offers homemade, artisanal pastas with many combinations of shapes, sauces, and flavors, and fully vegan options.
Basta Pasta is taking over the stall formerly occupied by GRN BRGR, but fear not—the popular plant-based fast-casual option has merged locations with the meatier Citizen Burger Stand.
Wood cookies and all
They’re back, with an ax! Devils Backbone Brewing Company pairs pints with the burley, nature-loving, flannel grace of lumberjack sports at the second annual Backbone Lumberjack Classic. Taking place on October 21 and 22 at its Basecamp Brewpub & Meadows, the weekend-long event features professional woodcutting categories such as the men’s hotsaw, the women’s underhand chop, and more. Early arrivals will be treated to meet-and-greets with the athletes on Saturday, and the first 50 guests receive a free autographed cookie (wood slice) from the previous day’s events.
The competition, created in partnership with Virginia native and lumbersports champion Scooter Cogar, will also feature food specials and beers like the Backbone Premium Lager, which is said to pair nicely with the smell of freshly cut lumber.
Pink about it
In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dairy Market is partnering with the Martha Jefferson Hospital Foundation to raise money, love, and support for breast cancer treatment programs. Join the fight by enjoying special pink drinks and menu items at vendor stalls, including The Milkman’s Bar, which is donating half of all proceeds from October’s sales of its Rose Quartz cocktail. The market is also hosting Yoga 4 Life on October 24 and an October 26 cooking class that focuses on cancer-fighting foods. Details at dairymarketcville.com.
Prepare to be stuffed
Is it too early to think about Thanksgiving? No, it’s not. Get ahead of the cooking stress by pre-ordering your turkey and all the fixin’s—so you avoid your entire family crammed into one kitchen trying to mash, slice, and toss.
Many area restaurants, farms, and provisioners like Bizou, Feast!, and Farm Bell Kitchen are already ready to take your Thanksgiving pre-orders. From the bird itself to Feast!’s “Everything But The Bird” side-dish package, there’s no shortage of easy pickup options to fit your appetite this Thanksgiving.
Celebrate the life and music of John Prine with local musicians at a special concert. Publicity photo.
Loving a legend
Celebrate the life and music of the late Grammy-winning folk legend John Prine at a live performance of All The Best …From 6 Feet Away: A Charlottesville Tribute To John Prine. The album, produced by Jeff Sweatman, features 21 local artists’ unique take on Prine’s songs, including “Speed of the Sound of Loneliness,” “Angel From Montgomery,” and “Summer’s End.” The live concert will feature Koda & Marie, John Kelly, Gina Sobel, Sarah White, Davina Jackson, and more.
Sunday 10/23. $15-20, 5pm. Rivanna River Company, 1518 E. High St. frontporchcville.org
Albemarle Symphony Orchestra's Fall Concert for Youth features modern and classical compositions. File photo.
Spirited youth
Albemarle Symphony Orchestra presents a program of contemporary and classical works at its Fall Concert for Youth. Conductor Philip Clark, who has played for the queens of England and Holland, will lead the orchestra through compositions from Harry Potter, Moana, Ghostbusters, Bach, and more. The evening also features a mystery emcee to keep the good times rolling.
Saturday 10/22. Free, 10am. Crozet Baptist Church, 5804 St. George Ave., Crozet. albemarlesymphony.org
Acclaimed country musicians Brent Cobb and Hayes Carll are on the road for a special run of collaborative concerts. “We’re gettin’ together to give ourselves, as well as the crowds, something that I believe we’ll all talk about for a while,” says Cobb, who performs his new gospel album, And Now, Let’s Turn to Page… Carll’s solo set features songs from 2021’s You Get It All alongside older hits that showcase his singular country style. Cobb and Carll unite on stage to share stories about their inspirations, life on the road, and to sing a few songs.
Sunday 10/23. $30-50, 8pm. The Jefferson Theater, 110 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. jeffersontheater.com
The spotted lanternfly, first detected in Virginia at the beginning of 2018, had made its way to Albemarle County by summer 2021. File photo.
There’s a new pest in town—and it’s after our grapes, apples, and hops. Oh, and it could also wreak havoc on loggers, certified organic and certified naturally grown producers, and our yards. You may have heard of it: the spotted lanternfly.
The spotted lanternfly is a planthopper native to areas of Asia, particularly China, that has spread invasively through accidental introduction of its eggs to other regions including South Korea, Japan, and the United States. It was first detected domestically in September 2014 in Pennsylvania, and has since spread to most of the northeastern United States. Although it feeds widely on many different plants, the SLF displays a fondness for grapevines, fruit trees, and forest trees. Once established, it can cause the widespread loss of agricultural crops—in the state of Pennsylvania it’s estimated the SLF has caused the agricultural and forestry industries to lose several hundred million dollars annually, as well as a possible loss of thousands of jobs.
The lanternfly was detected in Virginia in January 2018, and first seen in Albemarle County in July of 2021. Its local arrival is of significant concern, a threat to our wine grapes and other crops such as apples, peaches, and hops. While area farmers have not yet seen much evidence of the pest, most agree it’s just a matter of time, and the understanding of invasive species such as SLF suggests it is probably already too late to eradicate it.
Jake Busching, winemaker at Hark Vineyards and Jake Busching Wines, has decades of experience growing grapes in Virginia. He cites previous examples of invasive pests such as the spotted wing drosophila and marmorated stink bug when he says that SLF is almost certainly here to stay. He also expresses faith in the efforts of scientists to mitigate the effects once it reaches local vineyards, noting Penn State University is out front in terms of research. “There will be seasons of difficulty and some damage, but growers in other states are leading the way with reacting,” says Busching. “So, when it gets to our region, we will have a process to deal with them.”
Winemaker Jake Busching says that while the spotted lanternfly is here to stay, he has faith in scientists’ efforts to mitigate its effects on local vineyards. File photo.
Henry Chiles (the 10th), whose family runs local favorites Carter Mountain Orchard, Chiles Peach Orchard, Spring Valley Orchard, and Chiswell Farm and Winery, admits he’s anxious to see what the impact will be on his crops. Like Busching, Chiles is resigned to the fact that eradication is likely impossible, and spread is inevitable. In addition to spotted wing drosophila and stink bugs, he also cites the Japanese beetle and emerald ash borer as examples of invasive species that “got away from us” in terms of quarantine and eradication efforts.
While there is currently limited awareness of SLF, Chiles says, “I think the general public will become very aware once it is better established. SLF can and will feed on landscape trees and shrubs in high numbers. The real problem for homeowners will be the honeydew [slang for the secretions of SLF], which is a sugary rich solution that quickly grows sooty mold and makes everything black, including your backyard patio set.”
Douglas Pfeiffer, fruit entomologist at Virginia Tech, hypothesizes that the risk to orchard crops, hops, and vegetables may be less than to grapevines, but that the issue needs further research. He does, however, express concern about possible effects on the logging industry. “Eggs are laid on trees and are present for about eight months of the year,” says Pfeiffer. “Since the eastern United States population is the first occurrence outside of Asia, the potential for egg movement may complicate international shipment of logs.”
“By far, the most vulnerable crop is grape, where proper management is required to avoid vine death,” Pfeiffer says, noting that current control of the issue is centered on insecticide. “While SLF is not hard to kill, during the adult stage there is a problem with continued immigration into vineyards. There are some indirect costs here that need to be considered. The sprays needed in vineyards may disrupt natural controls for other pests, so vigilance will be needed to avoid problems associated with mealybugs and leafroll virus. The added sprays themselves will pose a cost for growers.”
Ruth Saunders, whose family has been farming Silver Creek Orchards for seven generations, is ready with such a plan. She compares the current situation to developing a spray program for stink bugs in the apple orchards over a decade ago. “I feel like we are ahead of the curve with the spotted lanternfly,” says Saunders. “We know it is here, and we just need to address it when it arrives on our farm. I feel like operations that have a solid spray program and are detail-oriented in the care of their fruit will be able to deal with this pest. Vineyards that are not committed to a solid spray program may struggle.”
For Karl Hambsch, owner of Loving Cup Vineyard & Winery, the only certified-organic vineyard in Virginia, the use of synthetic insecticides is not an option, and finding alternative treatments for SLF is of utmost importance. “We only have one organic spray that might kind of work against SLF,” says Hambsch. “So, once it gets here, we will have our hands full … invasive pests are definitely a wild card that might upset the good thing we have going here.”
As scientists work on possible solutions other than insecticides, efforts are growing to slow the spread by establishing quarantine areas and eliminating SLF when found. In addition, there is ongoing education about how to recognize all the life stages of the pest, how to prevent transporting it from one area to another, and to encourage people to report seeing the lanternfly. These efforts also involve active reduction of the population of a tree known as Ailanthus altissima (tree of heaven), which grows widely in Virginia. Ironically, this tree is also an invasive species and is a key host for SLF. The hope is that these efforts will slow the spread of SLF and allow more time to find potential long-term solutions.
Hambsch insists that there should be more awareness about this issue in our community. “I’d encourage folks to search for spotted lanternfly on YouTube if they want to see why SLF is so concerning,” he says. “Vineyards might be high-profile, but every property owner in our area will be affected. So, it’s an everyone problem, not just a vineyard problem. … If the community could become super-involved in monitoring, identifying, and killing the insects as soon they are found, we can buy the scientists a couple more years to work on the problem.”
It’s not just Hambsch putting out this message. According to Grace Monger, Virginia Tech’s associate agriculture and natural resources extension agent for Nelson County, “The public can help by participating in citizen science projects to track the spread and by checking their vehicles and other materials before moving them. SLF depends on human assisted transportation, so if we can educate the public … we can have a major impact. In a world with an increasingly global economy, increased transportation of goods, and increased consumer disconnect with food production, our best tool is public education.”
While Monger admits “the natural progression of most invasive species is that they’ll continue to spread despite prevention efforts,” she is careful to emphasize that it is not a futile effort. “If we never resist, all we would have would be dense monocultures of invasive species and no agriculture industry or natural world to enjoy. Chipping away at current populations and limiting spread are the two most significant management strategies.”
Monger is even more specific when talking about the area around Charlottesville. “Albemarle County produces 21 percent of the wine grapes in the state of Virginia,” she says. “If there is anyone that should be concerned about this issue, it’s Albemarle County residents. The tax dollars those vineyards bring in is substantial.”
To learn more about the SLF, go to albemarle.org and search for “spotted lanternfly.”
