Many threats endanger nature as we know it. Laurel Mountain Borough is a small community surrounded by conservation lands. Its dirt roads, lack of streetlights and cottage-type homes contribute to its charm. Another charming characteristic of the community is its many eastern hemlock trees, with their majestic beauty, height and girth and their miniature pine cones. However, they, like many other of nature’s blessings, are being threatened. They’ve moved to the front of a war being fought in 16 states from Maine to Georgia. The common enemy is the insect, Adelges tsugae, which infests the hemlocks, sucking the life from them. The trees may soon become “a thing of the past.” The invasive insect, aka hemlock woolly adelgid and HWA, is native to Asia. It infects all species of hemlock, but only the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and the Carolina hemlock are vulnerable when attacked (the latter doesn’t grow this far north). Eastern hemlock is commonly planted as a tree, shrub, or hedge in ornamental landscapes. There are at least 274 known cultivators of eastern hemlock. The war against the insect has reached The war against HWA infestation began about 1951 when it was first reported in Virginia. By 2005 it covered about half the range of hemlocks in parts of 16 States from Maine to Georgia. Its impact has been most severe in some areas of Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. The insects migrated to eastern Pennsylvania in the late 1960s, when their militia gradually marched over the Laurel Ridge. Battles to protect the hemlocks have been ongoing in The hemlock woolly adelgid is tiny, less than 1/16-inch (1.5-mm) long, and varies from dark reddish-brown to purplish-black in color. As it matures, it produces a covering of wool-like wax filaments to protect itself and its eggs from natural enemies and prevent them from drying out. This “wool” (ovisac) is most conspicuous when the adelgid is mature and laying eggs. Ovisacs can be readily observed from late fall to early summer on the underside of the outermost branch tips of hemlock trees. Are HWAs infecting eastern hemlock trees in your community? If so, click on ADELGES TSUGAE INFESTS EASTERN HEMLOCK TREES to read more about this insect, its life cycle and its control. ---written by Carolyn C. Holland Thank you for visiting the Beanery Online Literary Magazine at www.ProBlogs.com/beanerywriters. Return tomorrow to read a new post. | 
