Fighting Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

SVT has released three colonies of beetles at our Smith Conservation Land in Littleton in an attempt to control the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) that is threatening the health of hemlock trees at the property.

HWA is a familiar invasive to almost anyone in our region who has hemlock trees on their property. This small insect, which is native to East Asia, sucks the sap from hemlock and spruce trees, eventually weakening and killing them. Its presence is easily detected by the appearance of large masses of white egg sacs on the underside of branches.

SVT has been searching for environmentally safe ways to control HWA, and the use of S. tsugae beetle (it has no common name) shows promise. This beetle is also native to Asia and feeds exclusively on adelgids in the egg and nymph stages.

"The release of S. tsugae beetles into the environment has been studied for almost 30 years, and there haven't been any adverse effects on native species," said Jane Maloney, SVT Land Steward. "So far they have been released in 16 states and have shown promising results in some forest study sites in Connecticut!"

Fingers crossed, the beetle will control some of the HWA at Smith and will prove to be a useful tool in our ongoing battles with invasive pests.