Category: Adelgid
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Saving the Hemlock Trees Project
Through the efforts of Bob Burke, a plan was made to treat the hemlock trees in the Reservation with an insecticide on Arbor Day, April 29. Jason Lupien of Lupien Tree Service was organizing the program to provide the labor at no cost, if the Friends could purchase the insecticide. See the minutes of our…
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Adelgid Updates: May, 2011
Some members of the Friends who visited the Arnold Arboretum this spring we surprised to see Hemlock Hill still populated with healthy appearing tall trees free of adelgids. It was particularly surprising because the Arboretum, unlike the Friends, had decided to take no steps to arrest the infestation of the adelgids. Bob Burke made additional…
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Adelgid Articles: 2009
March, 2009 The March, 2009 issue of Science Daily has a new story about the impending doom of the hemlocks in the lower Appalachian region and its dire consequences for the surrounding ecosystems. It also has further links to older stories about anti-hemlock fungi and the Japanese Beetles that we have used at Hemlock Gorge.…
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Adelgid Updates: October 1, 2009
An informal and unscientific survey by several members of the Friends walking through the park recently suggests that about a third of the trees are now dead and another third show signs of severe disease. There was no sign of ladybugs, nor has there been for years.
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Charlie Burnham Report: November, 2008
DCR Forester Charlie Burnham visited Hemlock Gorge in November, 2008. Here are his reports to the Friends: I went to the gorge to evaluate it as a possible release site for a different predatory beetle, Laricobius nigrinus. I noticed that the hemlocks were in two very different states of health which I can’t explain. Some…
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Charlie Burnham Report: May 12, 2008
The Friends had news on May 12, 2008 from State Forester Charlie Burnham in regard to the Hemlock Woolly Adelgids and our release of ladybugs. Here is what he wrote: I haven’t been there to look for beetles in a couple of years, but this past winter some of them showed up an another location…
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Adelgid Articles: July, 2007
The Boston Sunday Globe published an informative update on the woolly adelgid in New England, emphasizing the role global warming may play in the problem. Click here to view the Globe article via their archives (subscription required). Click here to view the article via the Globe‘s website. Additionally, a July 17 story in the Newton…
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Report on the Adelgids and Ladybugs in Hemlock Gorge
Final Report Pseudoscymnus tsugae Release Hemlock Gorge 2001-2005 Background: The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) (formerly the Department of Environmental Management) was approached by the Friends of Hemlock Gorge regarding the possible release of the predatory ladybird beetle (Pseudoscymnus tsugae) for the control of an infestation of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA) (Adelges tsugae) at…
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State of Infestation
On November 8, 2005 state forester Charlie Burnham contacted the Friends and made the following report on the adelgid infestation: “I was at the Gorge last week and will write up a summary of what I was and have it to you sometime next week. Overall things look good but I have noticed the start…
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The Newton Tab declares the Adelgid Vanquished!
In early April, 2005 the Newton Tab wrote a nice article describing the efforts being made at Hemlock Gorge to thwart the adelgid. Site Supervisor Kevin Hollenbeck was featured. A PDF of the article has been provided.
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Hopeful Adelgid News: The Ladybugs may be having an effect
It’s been more than a year since the release of the first ladybugs. We still don’t have an official opinion from forester Charlie Burnham on their impact. but at the August picnic, we all toured the site and inspected the hemlocks. What we saw made us cautiously optimistic. Although several trees have died, and evidence…
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2001 Ladybug Release
May 2, 2001 The long struggle to save the trees in Hemlock Gorge reached a turning point at 2:30 on Wednesday, May 2, 2001. At that time Massachusetts state forester Charlie Burnham and site supervisor Kevin Hollenbeck released the first of 10,000 ladybugs grown during the winter to combat the Woolly Adelgid. The insects, black,…
