Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Adelges tsugae
Summary 4
The hemlock woolly adelgid, or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) 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.
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Note that Earthwise Aware records the phenology of both the host and the invasive species.
Sources and Credits
- (c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Claire O'Neill, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/78686527
- (c) Bill MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Bill MacIndewar, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/147983112
- (c) Joe MacIndewar, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Joe MacIndewar, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/148653304
- Adapted by Claire O'Neill from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelges_tsugae
- (c) Claire O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
