Wooly adelgid bugs our hemlocks

NARROWSBURG, NY — The National Park Service (NPS) and the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) will co-sponsor a free workshop to discuss the threat of the hemlock wooly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), a non-native invasive insect that poses a threat to the region’s eastern hemlock trees.

Federal, state and local agency experts will tell landowners how to detect an infestation and offer tips on management and treatment on Wednesday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. in the Tusten Town Hall.

Experts hypothesize that the adelgids came to the United States on imported ornamental hemlocks from Japan and China in 1924. The small, aphid-like insects extend their proboscises into the hemlock needles to feed and can cause tree mortality. They have destroyed entire hemlock forests from Virginia to New England.

As a conservation measure, 5,200 predatory beetles were released in June to feed on the adelgids at the Mongaup Valley Wildlife Management property in Orange County. The success of this biological control agent is being monitored.

Refreshments will be served. For more information call 570/729-7842 or email don_hamilton@nps.gov.