Dear Colleagues, The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid was recently discovered in Cornell Plantations and the NY Invasive Species Research Institute is working with Plantations and other local partners to detect new sites of infestation. Soon, a form for uploading new occurrences will be available on our Web site: http://nyisri.org/HWA.aspx - Note there will also be 3 HWA identification training workshops in the next few weeks (see below) Please share this important message with other interested individuals and organizations. An insect pest newly arrived in the Finger Lakes region -- the hemlock woolly adelgid – was recently discovered in the Cornell Plantations area of Cascadilla Gorge and in the Beebe Lake natural areas and is threatening hemlock trees and the biodiversity they support. This Asian species has decimated hemlock populations across the eastern United States, where altered habitats – due to the loss of the hemlocks – have caused a cascade of environmental changes for some amphibians, fish, invertebrates and plants in response to increased light and warmer temperatures. The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) causes nearly 100 percent mortality in the native eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). The small, aphid-like insects feed on the sap at the base of individual needles on the trees; eventually needles yellow and drop, branches die, and trees succumb in about four to 10 years. Hemlock woolly adelgids were first reported in the central Finger Lakes region in mid-2008, and they now inhabit at least 19 local sites. Early detection of new sites of infestation is now a high priority, and local conservation groups are organizing volunteer surveys as a critical first step in managing this devastating invasive species. Cornell Plantations, Cornell Cooperative Extension, the Cornell Department of Natural Resources, the Finger Lakes Land Trust, and the Finger Lakes Native Plant Society are organizing three workshops aimed at training volunteers to identify and report new hemlock woolly adelgid infestations. Each twohour session will feature a presentation by Mark Whitmore from the Cornell Department of Natural Resources on the adelgid’s biology and the threat it poses to local hemlock forests. Participants will visit Beebe Lake to observe hemlock woolly adelgids firsthand and gain experience in detection and survey protocols. Participants will also have the opportunity to volunteer in the "Sponsor-aHemlock" program to conduct surveys and report new infestations in local hemlock forests. The training workshops will be held at Cornell Plantations’ Lewis Education Center, located at One Plantations Road on the Cornell campus, on Friday, March 13, at 1 p.m.; Saturday, March 21, at 10 a.m.; and Monday, March 23, at 3 p.m. To register for the training workshops, or for more information on the hemlock woolly adelgid, visit www.plantations.cornell.edu. Additional information and instructions on reporting new infestations can also be found at the New York Invasive Species Research Institute website.
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Hemlock woolly adelgids on an eastern hemlock. Adult adelgids can be easily observed in winter and early spring at the base of individual needles, covering themselves with fluffy white, cottony wax, which remains on the branches long after the adelgids die. Photo credit: Mark Whitmore The mission of the Cornell Plantations Natural Areas Program is to preserve, maintain and restore representative examples of each natural community type and locally rare plant habitat within the Central Finger Lakes region, in order to foster natural heritage conservation, research and education efforts. Cornell Plantations is the arboretum, botanical garden, and natural areas of Cornell University and is a member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail partnership.
Todd Bittner, Natural Areas Director Cornell Plantations 1 Plantations Road Ithaca, NY 14850 -Holly Menninger, Ph.D. Senior Extension Associate and NY Invasive Species Research Institute Coordinator Department of Natural Resources Cornell University 110 Rice Hall Ithaca, NY 14853 Phone: 607.254.6789 Fax: 607.255.0349 Web: http://nyisri.org
3/9/2009