{"id":7187,"date":"2022-03-25T18:45:59","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T18:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/?p=7187"},"modified":"2022-03-25T18:53:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T18:53:46","slug":"please-be-on-the-lookout-for-hemlock-wooly-adelgid-in-the-vicinity-of-sandy-lake-bedford-ns-25mar2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/versicolor.ca\/sandylakebedford\/2022\/03\/25\/please-be-on-the-lookout-for-hemlock-wooly-adelgid-in-the-vicinity-of-sandy-lake-bedford-ns-25mar2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Please be on the lookout for Hemlock Wooly Adelgid in the vicinity of Sandy Lake (Bedford NS) 25Mar2022"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hemlock Woolly Adelgid<\/strong>. “Their name comes from waxy white filaments they make to protect themselves from drying out. These \u201chemlock vampires\u201d were first discovered in 1951 in Virginia, and by 2005 had spread to fifteen other states.
Source: Paul Hetzler, Cornell Cooperative Extension<\/a>
Photo source: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Bugwood.org<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

We learned of the arrival of this \u00a0really horrible pest, the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid (HWA), aka the Hemlock Vampires<\/em>, in NS (and in all of Atlantic Canada) only in Aug of 2017<\/a>, which seems like ages ago now.<\/p>\n

When first discovered, it had already spread though \u00a0three counties at the southwest extremity of NS (Digby, Yarmouth and Shelburne) so likely had hopped across the gulf of Maine (or got a ride on some wood) from infected areas in the northeastern USA – see map<\/a>. It is not known in N.B.<\/p>\n

The latest update (Dec 31, 2022, below) shows it spreading progressively though the province, now many confirmed sites \u00a0in Annapolis and Queens Co. \u00a0and a few in each of Kings and Lunenburg Co.<\/p>\n

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Confirmed occurrence of HWA in NS 2017-2021<\/strong> (red dots). Green dots show the distribution of eastern hemlock in the southwest to central part of the province. Click on image for larger source image on the Nova Scotia Hemlock Initiative<\/a> website.<\/p><\/div>\n

So it’s pretty likely it will be in Hants and Halifax counties soon if not already there.<\/p>\n

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Hemlock-lined Peverill’s Brook<\/p><\/div>\n

Mixed forests with hemlock and hemlock dominated forests prevail around much of Sandy Lake and Marsh Lake, some of the stands over 200 years old.<\/p>\n

The sooner we ID the pest (once arrived), the better. The key thing to be on the lookout for, especially \u00a0in early spring when they are most prominent, \u00a0are the “cotton balls” on the underside of hemlock branches. Always check any branches that might have fallen from the tops of trees. If spotted, take a pic and report it right away to the CFIA.<\/a><\/p>\n

There are steps that we can take to slow the movement down that we should all practice whether we have it in our home county or not. \u00a0Here’s the advice From Giants of Nova Scotia<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Prevention, Prevention, Prevention<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Preventing HWA from getting to a new hemlock forest is key to slowing the spread. On its own, HWA spreads very slowly. Humans are very mobile and have the potential to relocate the bug 100s of miles in a single trip. So what can you do?<\/em><\/p>\n