Contacts:
Kelly Loftus, Agency of Agriculture, (802) 828-3829
Jim Esden, Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation , (802) 885-8822

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – More hemlock trees infested with a potentially lethal insect were found in Brattleboro on May 12 of this year. Dozens of trees, some showing signs of decline, were discovered on steep, undeveloped land along the Connecticut River.

The size of a pinhead, Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is a destructive, non-native insect that can kill hemlock trees by sucking nutrients from the twigs.

Last summer, a handful of infested trees were found and treated in a residential neighborhood of Brattleboro. Foresters from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation made the discovery last week while conducting routine follow-up surveys of infestations found last year. Intensified surveys are being conducted to determine the extent of the new area infested.

“We have been watching this pest for several years and anticipated that it might infest hemlock trees in Vermont,” said Jon Turmel, State Entomologist with the Agency of Agriculture. “The Agency of Agriculture will continue to work collaboratively with the Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation to identify infestations and do what we can to control and eradicate it.”

Control methods are limited and once infested, a tree can die within a few years. The adelgid lives on the underside of the hemlock twigs and protects itself with a woolly, white mass.

Introduced from China, the insect was noticed in Virginia in the 1950s and has spread to 16 states, causing widespread tree mortality and decline. Vermont officials are concerned because native enemies have not stopped the spread. Hemlock is highly valued as an ornamental tree and for its ecological value in the forest ecosystem, providing winter shelter for wildlife and shading streams.

The Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation is asking the public to be on the look out for Hemlock Woolly Adelgid and report suspected sightings. Hemlock trees are evergreens with flat, shiny green needles that are about ½ an inch long. The most obvious sign of the insect are the white, woolly masses found on the underside of the twigs at the base of the needles. The masses often resemble the tips of cotton swabs. People are asked not to move suspected infestations, but to call the Department’s Forest Biology Lab at 802-241-3606 or the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets at 802-241-3544.

For more information http://www.vtfpr.org/protection/hwafactsheet.cfm or www.vermontagriculture.com.