Dr. Carole Cheah came, once again, to Peoples and American Legion State Forests to release lady beetles on Eastern Hemlocks, hoping to further combat the pests.
According to Dr. Cheah, the arctic blast in early February killed 90 percent of the Wooly Adelgid, but we must be vigilant to keep them from multiplying.
With a grant from the Farmington River Coordinating Committee, Dr. Cheah has purchased thousands of these Lady Beetles that help eradicate the invasive insect vcalled the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid, which has been spreading in CT since first discovered in the State more than a decade ago. As its name suggests, the pest infests Hemlock trees. It saps them of moisture and nutrients, causing the trees to become sick and, under certain conditions, die.
Covered with a white, waxy, wool-like material, they looked like tiny cotton balls clinging to the undersides of branches.
Dr. Cheah, who works at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Valley Laboratory in Windsor, brought some Lady Beetles along with her in hopes of ridding some of the forests’ Eastern Hemlock trees from the pesky insect.
Originally from Japan, the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid is spreading throughout the State and efforts by Dr. Cheah are helping stop it with predator beetles known as “Sasajiscymnus tsugae.” Related to Ladybugs, these tiny black beetles feed specifically on the Hemlock Wooly Adelgid.
FALPS is dedicated to doing all it can to aid in the battle against invasive insects and plants in our forests and are grateful that Dr. Cheah had come out to aid in that effort.
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