Maryland Department of Agriculture Works To Combat Disease In Hemlocks.ANNAPOLIS, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 30, 1999-- The Maryland Department of Agriculture will participate in a U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service program to release a predator of an exotic insect affecting hemlock hemlock, any tree of the genus Tsuga, coniferous evergreens of the family Pinaceae (pine family) native to North America and Asia. The common hemlock of E North America is T. trees. The hemlock woolly adelgid Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae), commonly abbreviated as HWA is a true bug native to East Asia that feeds by sucking sap from hemlock trees (Tsuga sp.). , a native of eastern Asia, has caused extensive mortality of hemlock stands in the Northeast United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . It has been adversely affecting hemlocks in Maryland for more than 20 years and is now commonly found in landscape hemlocks in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a consolidated metropolitan area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. . The adelgid has slowly been moving westward in the State and recent infestations have been reported in native hemlock stands in Allegany and Washington Counties. Although hemlocks are not a major component of the forests of Maryland, they often occur in unique habitats in riparian riparian adj. referring to the banks of a river or stream. (See: riparian rights) areas. Hemlock mortality as a result of the adelgid infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. could adversely affect water quality and fish habitat in these fragile areas. Although the adelgid can be controlled in the landscape, there are no practical methods for control in the forest. The predator being released, Pseudoscymnus tsugae, is a beetle in the ladybug ladybug or ladybird beetle Any of the approximately 5,000 widely distributed beetles of the family Coccinellidae. The name originated in the Middle Ages, when the beetle was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and called “beetle of Our Lady. family Coccinellidae. The beetle feeds on the adelgid in its native range in Japan. Pseudoscymnus tsugae is only known to feed on the hemlock woolly adelgids in nature, but in laboratory experiments it has survived on other adelgid species. In the United States, however, there are no native adelgids for the predator to feed on. The life cycle of these voracious beetles is synchronized with the hemlock woolly adelgid. Both insects have two generations each year and adult beetles can consume about 50 adelgids each week during peak activity. In previous releases in Connecticut and Virginia, P. tsugae reduced densities of adelgids in only five months. Maryland is one of seven states that will be releasing these beetles in 1998. The proposed release site is in a native hemlock stand in Harford County. The site will be monitored for at least two years to assess beetle survival, adelgid population response and hemlock health. Questions and concerns concerning this biological control release should be directed to the Maryland Department of Agriculture, Forest Pest Management Section, 50 Harry S Truman Pkwy, Annapolis MD 21401 or by phone contact Dr. Robert Rabaglia at 410/841-5922. |
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