Yesterday, our forester intern, Margaret Scott, participated in a Hemlock Wooly Adelgid Training Tour. Participants travelled to Rochester, New York to learn how to identify and survey for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA) from staff from Cornell University and New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation. Discussions also involved detection and treatment strategies. Although HWA is not currently found in Ontario, it is hoped that learning opportunities such as this one will help Ontario natural resource managers be better prepared to detect and manage HWA when it is found. This informative and hands-on tour was put on by the Early Detection and Rapid Response Network of Ontario.

For more information on Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, check out the link to the fact sheet below.

“Hemlock woolly adelgid is an aphid-like insect that attacks and kills hemlock trees. Its egg sacs, which look like cotton balls or clumps of snow, can be found at the base of needles. It can be spread by wind, animals, and human movement of nursery stock, logs, and other wood products including firewood.” – Adelges tsugae (Hemlock Woolly Adelgid) – Fact Sheet

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