Hemlock woolly adelgid

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), or HWA, is member of the Sternorrhyncha suborder of the order Hemiptera and native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (Tsuga spp.; Picea spp.). In its native range, HWA is not a serious pest because populations are managed by natural predators and parasitoids and by host resistance. In eastern North America it is a destructive pest that threatens the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and the Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana). HWA is also found in western North America, where it has likely been present for thousands of years. In western North America, it primarily attacks western hemlock Tsuga heterophylla and has only caused minor damage due to natural predators and host resistance. Accidentally introduced to North America from Japan, HWA was first found in the eastern United States near Richmond, Virginia, in 1951. The pest is now found from northern Georgia to coastal Maine and southwestern Nova Scotia. As of 2015, 90% of the geographic range of eastern hemlock in North America has been affected by HWA. An adult individual body length is typically 0.8 mm, and is oval in shape. The tiny brown-colored insect has four thread-like stylets that are bundled together and function as a mouthpart. Three times the length of its body, the stylet bundle pierces the host plant's parenchymatic ray tissue to derive nutrition from stored reserves. It may also inject a toxin while feeding. The resulting desiccation causes the tree to lose needles and not produce new growth. Hemlocks stricken by HWA frequently become grayish-green rather than a healthy dark green. In the northern portion of the hemlock's range, death typically occurs 4 to 10 years after infestation. Trees that survive the direct effects of the infection are usually weakened and may die from secondary causes. The presence of HWA can be identified by its egg sacs, which resemble small tufts of cotton clinging to the underside of hemlock branches. In North America, the hemlock woolly adelgid asexually reproduces and can have two generations per year. Both generations are parthenogenetic and exclusively female. In its native Asian habitat, a third winged generation called sexupera occurs; although this generation's sexual reproduction requires a species of spruce not found in the Eastern United States, and therefore dies, areas of West Virginia as of 2017 are heavily infested with this form. Between 100 and 300 eggs are laid by each individual in the woolly egg sacs beneath the branches. Larvae emerge in spring and can spread on their own or with the assistance of wind, birds, or mammals. In the nymph stage, the adelgid is immobile and settles on a single tree. The current leading biological control method of hemlock woolly adelgid is Sasajiscymnus tsugae, . S. tsugae is a black lady beetle that is relatively host-specific, feeding only on three known aldegid species, including HWA. This beetle was discovered in 1992 while feeding on hemlock woolly adelgid in its natural range of Japan. Since 1995, the DCNR's Bureau of Forestry has released hundreds of thousands of adult S. tsugae beetles into affected hemlock forests of the eastern United States to determine its effectiveness at controlling the spread of the adelgid. From 1995 to 1997, experiments in Connecticut and Virginia found that releasing adult Sasajiscymnus tsugae beetles into infested hemlock stands resulted in a 47 to 88% reduction in adelgid densities within 5 months of introduction. The beetle's lifecycle is in parallel to the lifecycle of the hemlock woolly adelgid. Both lay eggs in the spring and hatching occurs nearly simultaneously. When hatched, S. tsugae larvae are highly mobile and feed on hemlock woolly adelgid eggs and larvae. Each S. tsugae larva can effectively consume about 500 adelgid eggs or nearly 100 developing adelgid nymphs. Laricobius nigrinus is another predatory beetle used as a biological control in response to hemlock woolly adelgid. Native to the western United States and Canada, L. nigrinus is known to prey exclusively on various woolly adelgids. L. nigrinus adults lay their eggs on top of wintering adelgid larvae in early spring, and upon hatching, the larval beetles feed on hemlock woolly adlegid. Also under study is Laricobius osakensis from Japan, a relative of L. nigrinus. They have shown promise in field trials. The environmentally safest chemical control methods for treating individual trees are nontoxic insecticidal soap and horticultural oil. These are sprayed on the foliage and smother the insects as they dry. Most trees need to be treated on a yearly basis. Toxic systemic insecticides may be applied to the foliage and bark of a tree and can persist in killing the adelgid for up to four years after application. Caution must be used, and restraint exercised around bodies of water.