Hemlock Wooly Adelgid

[greatexpectations]

my apologies, i had a typo in the link. it has some nice pictures and info about a pocket of old growth that i believe has some of the tallest trees for the respective species (including hemlock) in MA and new england.

i should also say that i meant the high peaks region, not just the adirondacks. i was referring to the owl's head lookout trail. this and the RBF trail to giant are the only hemlock stands i can think of on trails that lead to high peaks. i'm sure DSettahr can correct me on this one!

whether or not they are true old growth or not, hemlocks are a tree that definitely give off (to me at least) an old growth 'feel' because of the characteristics of the understory.

[montcalm]

Not the easiest map to read TBH.

Again I'm surprised by the data. Looks like around Sacandaga Lake, south of Schroon and west of Lake George has some of the highest density in the state.

You can see it's zero in the high elevations of the High Peaks. They don't grow beyond a certain elevation and I think the black spruce or balsam fir, or both, take their place.

[DSettahr]

Yeah, the Lake George area/Lake Champlain valley has a lot of hemlock. I know there's lots of it in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness.

Hemlock is not super prolific in the High Peaks (due to the elevation) but there's stands of it in a few spots. The Keene Valley vicinity is one place I'd look for it- I'm fairly certain that there's a fair amount of it in the lower stretches of the Johns Brook Valley (from the Garden up through to JBL). Similarly, I'm reasonably certain there's some in the lower portions of the AMR, as well as on the Boquet herd path approaches into the Dix Range.

I'd be fairly shocked if there weren't any hemlocks along the eastern approach to Rocky Peak Ridge.

I know for a fact that the eastern slopes of the Dix Range- so the extreme eastern portion of the High Peaks Wilderness where it slopes down to I-87- has some fairly substantial stands of hemlock. If you can figure out how to access the area, there's some really nice bushwhacking to be had in beautiful areas of dense hemlock overstory but open understory.

To the untrained eye, hemlock can be easy to confuse with fir especially. A dead giveaway, though, is the last 4 or 5 inches of the very upper-most tip of the tree. On firs (and spruces), this tip will typically stick perfectly upright. On hemlocks, it will be flopped over, unable to keep itself upright. Below is a photo of a western hemlock, but shares this characteristic and exemplifies what I'm talking about (I wasn't able to find any good photos of eastern hemlock showing this characteristic floppy top via a quick google search):

[montcalm]

I sometimes never even notice them when they are big. I’m usually looking at the ground and I see the understory changes and usually the lighting - they tend to have the darkest understory and not much can grow under large ones.

But as I alluded to above, the cones are a dead giveaway. Usually the ground under them will retain at least a few.

[montcalm]

Also that map sheds a little light on why they treated those ones on Prospect Mtn right away.

We'd be looking at some major damage if they could get up the Eastern ADKs.

[Banjoe]

Recent news from Cornell on this issue. We've lost far too many already, but it's nice to get a glimmer of hope:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/07/silver-fly-takes-flight-fight-save-fall-creek-hemlocks

[Tug Hill]

Fly and beetle native to the northwest, Hope the cure is not worse than the diseases ?

[St.Regis]

Bad news re HWA

https://www.adirondackalmanack.com/2025/07/hemlock-woolly-adelgid-confirmed-on-lake-champlain-shore-great-sacandaga-lake-dam.html

[Wldrns]

Fly and beetle native to the northwest, Hope the cure is not worse than the diseases ?

When I attended the HWA workshop at the ADK facility several years ago, the western HWA killer insect was mentioned. When asked why it was not already an option for us here in the east, I was told that it takes many years of study by the EPA and other agencies and laboratory studies before the full impact of the fly's release can be known. You don't want to cause more problems with yet another invasive species causing more unwanted issues.

Earlier this spring I attended a workshop sponsored by SUNY Oswego and the St. Lawrence Eastern Lake Ontario Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (SLELO PRISM) where we collected samples from field placed traps to count the number of tiny wasps that attack EAB larvae exclusively. 10,000 of the approved special wasps had been released in the past couple of years. Fifteen Yellow (an attractant color) plastic dishes were fastened to branches distributed in a nearby forest with dying ash trees. The dishes were filled with a sweet propylene glycol fatal attractant and preservative solution. Back in the laboratory under a microscope, we analyzed the dozens of species of tiny flies in the collected solution, looking for the just one specific species that attacks EAB. I had no idea there were so many different kinds of microscopic sized flying critters. Many are just too similar to distinguish from one another unless you are an expert entomologist. A few were found. We were told that it took several years to certify and approve release of this non-native tiny wasp before it could be set free into our eastern woodland environment.

Spathius galinae, is a 5-7 millimeter-long parasitic wasp that lays its eggs on EAB larvae but poses no danger to people, pets, or other animals. When the eggs hatch, the wasp’s own larvae feed on their much larger host, killing it. After carefully evaluating the wasp’s host specificity, scientists released it in EAB-infested areas of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. S. galinae established a self-sustaining population 3 years after its initial release and spread more than 8 miles from the original release points, parasitizing 35 to 78 percent of EAB populations and reducing its densities there.

[Grayelve]

Just browsing and stumbled onto this post, wish I have found it earlier. This past August I discovered this infestation in my hemlocks, about 2 dozen that I planted some 30 years ago. I have a couple that I trimmed up about 10 feet above the ground that appear to be not infested but the rest are too far gone. The adelgids drain the trees of their life juices and you can see the loss of the needle's green and production of their little pinecones. I am in the Village of Hamburg on the Eastern end of Lake Erie and it has come into this area. Cornell wanted the coordinates of my hemlocks I guess for tracking. There is hope for the young ones with treatment but outcome for older trees is expensive and not likely. Off to read that Cornell article now. I heard about some promise to counter the HWA infestations with a small wasp and its larvae that would feed on the adelgids.

[Wldrns]

The ADK and NYSDEC frequently sponsors free regional training and information classes, along with field trips to identify and what to do about HWA and other ijnvasive species.


New York State’s PRISM (Partnership For Regional Invasive Species Management) Network consists of eight regional Partnerships for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISMs) designed to manage invasive species through early detection, rapid response, education, and control measures. Funded by the Environmental Protection Fund and coordinated by the DEC, these groups protect biodiversity statewide.

• • Adirondack Park Invasive Plant Program (APIPP) (https://adkinvasives.com)
  • Capital Region PRISM (11 counties)
  • Finger Lakes PRISM (17 counties)
  • Lower Hudson PRISM
  • St. Lawrence-Eastern Lake Ontario (SLELO) PRISM. (https://www.sleloinvasives.org)
  • Western New York (WNY) PRISM
  • CRISP (Catskill Regional Invasive Species Partnership)
  • Long Island Invasive Species Management Area (LIISMA) (Implicit in statewide coverage)
• Function: PRISMs focus on, but are not limited to, managing high-priority species like the hemlock woolly adelgid. They coordinate volunteers, provide outreach, and implement on-the-ground management.

Since my property is on the border of the SLELO and APIP Prisms, I am a membe of both and attend free on-site workshops and online webinars throughout the year to learn how to manage both unwaned invasives and over abundant native species in my lake and nearby woodland property.