An invasive insect has been found attacking hemlock trees at the Birdseye Hollow State Forest in Steuben County.
The Department of Environmental Conservation has been treating the trees that have the insects on it.
The insects are very small, only 1.5 mm big and are harder to see. They’re visible when the white wooly covering on their egg sacs are on the trees. The insect was first found in the area in 2018.
Insecticides were used to help protect the impacted trees when the insects were first spotted, which protects the trees for a few years after treatment.
Right now long-term protection is being developed with biological control agents. One way of doing this is by using insects that prey on the HWA.
Hemlocks being treated in the forest are in the towns of Bradford, Bath, Urbana, and Wayne. They are being treated because they’re some of the bigger and more healthy trees in the area.
Treatment of trees will continue there as well as in the Hemlock-Canadice and McCarthy Hill State Forests.
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