BATAVIA, Ohio — The Clermont County Park District is inviting residents to turn one of Ohio’s most unwanted invasive insects into art, offering two sessions of a “memento mori” class built around the spotted lanternfly on Aug. 29 at Clingman Park.
The $5 class, guided by guest artist Desiré of Decayed Desires, will meet at 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., the park district said in a Facebook post. Participants will assemble their own memento mori frames — a mixed-media art form traditionally used to reflect on mortality — using spotted lanternflies collected from around the Cincinnati area in place of the butterflies typically featured in the pieces.
The park district said all materials will be provided, though participants may bring photographs or personal keepsakes from home to incorporate into their frames, as long as the items lie flat. Registration is available through the park district’s website, clermontparks.org.
The spotted lanternfly, native to Asia, was first confirmed in Ohio in 2020 and has since spread across the state. The Ohio Department of Agriculture expanded its quarantine on the pest to cover all of Ohio effective Feb. 17, up from 18 previously quarantined counties, in an effort to slow its spread. The insect feeds on grapes, hops, apples and dozens of other plants, and state officials have said it poses a particular threat to Ohio’s grape and wine industry, which generates more than $6 billion in economic activity annually.
The class will be held at Clingman Park, 2156 U.S. 50 in Batavia, a 132-acre property that serves as the park district’s administrative and naturalist headquarters.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Clermont County Park District.