Full work: https://www.deviantart.com/mrarbors.....0%3A1642473863
So this is what is killing the Hemlocks in this stand and all over the east coast. It is a pest species commonly known as Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae), aka HWA. Those white blobs are the insect, and the waxy coating it makes for itself as a defense against predators. It is an arguably native invasive pest on eastern Hemlock species, that is spread by birds. Western Hemlock species have evolved a tolerance for it, and in the west of North America, and Asia, there are predators to keep the numbers of the Adelgid in check. Currently there is a lot of research going into releasing those predators in the east, to give the Hemlocks here a fighting chance.
Quick factoids, this pest is active in winter, and dormant in summer. Also, it only reproduces sexually when it has a specific Asian spruce species present as a secondary host.
So this is what is killing the Hemlocks in this stand and all over the east coast. It is a pest species commonly known as Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae), aka HWA. Those white blobs are the insect, and the waxy coating it makes for itself as a defense against predators. It is an arguably native invasive pest on eastern Hemlock species, that is spread by birds. Western Hemlock species have evolved a tolerance for it, and in the west of North America, and Asia, there are predators to keep the numbers of the Adelgid in check. Currently there is a lot of research going into releasing those predators in the east, to give the Hemlocks here a fighting chance.
Quick factoids, this pest is active in winter, and dormant in summer. Also, it only reproduces sexually when it has a specific Asian spruce species present as a secondary host.
Category Photography / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Gender Any
Size 1280 x 855px
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