Have you seen this bug? Oregon investigators on the lookout for an invasive pest

A picture of a

teeny black and white bug

spotted in Portland and posted to a nature observation website earlier this month spurred a multiagency manhunt.

Species-watchers on the iNaturalist site grew concerned the small black creature with tiny white polka dots was a young spotted lanternfly — an

invasive species

native to Asia with the

potential to harm

Oregon’s

wine

, hops and fruit industries. Someone reported the possible sighting at Portland’s Colonel Summers Park to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, which launched an investigation.

After two visual surveys, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Washington State Department of Agriculture and US Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health and Inspection Service were

unable to find

any trace of the bug, so the lanternfly is still not considered to be present in Oregon. The agencies will keep monitoring the park in the coming weeks, the Department of Agriculture says.

The state is also asking Oregonians to keep an eye out and to report any sightings of the spotted lanternfly to the

Oregon Invasive Species hotline

with as much detail as possible, including pictures, location or even a specimen.

The immature, black and white version of the bug grows into a spotted planthopper with streaks of red down its wings.

The

bug eats

a range of plants including grapes, hops, fruits and hardwood trees, according to the US Department of Agriculture. It leaves behind a sugary fluid that causes mold and further damages plants. The critter was first spotted in the U.S. in 2014, in Pennsylvania, and has since infested 18 states, the department says.

While the Oregon Department of Agriculture has not found any living examples of the bug in Oregon yet, it has intercepted many dead adults and a live bunch of eggs on equipment coming into the state. The bug would have a negative impact on Oregon’s grapevine and nursery businesses, the state warns.

If you think you‘ve seen the spotted lanternfly, let the Oregon Department of Agriculture know by emailing plant-entomologists@oda.oregon.gov or calling (503) 986-4636.

Here’s

what to look for

and how to check that you‘re not seeing a different insect

commonly mistaken for

the spotted lanternfly.

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