Invasive tree-killing pest ‘highly likely’ to show up in Wisconsin, expert says
The following article was originally posted on Wisconsin Public Radio’s website: https://www.wpr.org/news/invasive-tree-killing-pest-highly-likely-wisconsin
Hemlock woolly adelgid could threaten millions of trees. Experts say the pest is ‘knocking at our door.’
State agencies are teaming up to prevent an invasive forest pest from making its way into Wisconsin and threatening millions of the state’s hemlock trees.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection are on the lookout for hemlock woolly adelgid. The tiny, aphid-like insects are just millimeters long, and they’re usually identified by their woolly egg sacs on the underside of branches.
The pest, which is native to Asia, first showed up in the western United States in the 1920s. While it hasn’t yet been found in Wisconsin forests, the pest has been spotted during inspections of the state’s tree nurseries four times since 2017.
State regulators say the invasive insect is “knocking at our door.” In nearby Michigan, the pest has become established in 11 counties primarily along the Lake Michigan shoreline, according to Michael Falk, DATCP’s forest pest unit supervisor and UW-Madison Entomology alum.
“Once it infests hemlock, without any intervention, it’s going to kill the trees,” Falk said. “It’s just not something anyone would want to happen here in Wisconsin.”
Read the rest of the story on WPR’s website: https://www.wpr.org/news/invasive-tree-killing-pest-highly-likely-wisconsin
This article was posted in News and tagged Michael Falk, Mike Hillstrom, Mitchell Lannan, PJ Liesch.