For those that haven't been to the Joyce Kilmer Forest recently, you might be interested to know that a lot of the Hemlock trees are dead or dying. The forest service just this past year blew them up with dynamite, so it would look like either a storm came through or some type of natural event occurred that pushed them over. It sort of looked like it to me. A little depressing to see so many of these large Hemlocks have now fallen. They have succumbed to an infestation of a woolly adelgid (see below). On the bright side is the fact that all of the magnificent Tulip Poplars aren't affected. So if you want to see some large trees this is the place to go. Throughout the forest are various plants such as this one below.
(The woolly adelgid is a serious exotic insect pest of Canadian hemlock and Carolina hemlock. It has no natural enemies within this country. Hemlock woolly adelgid was introduced here about 40 years ago from its native country, Japan, where it is not considered a pest. The adelgid is found in the Eastern United States from North Carolina to Southern New England. It feeds by sucking sap from the branches. If controls are not applied to pest infested trees most will die in 3 - 4 years. The insect spreads to host trees by birds, animals, humans and the wind.)
(The woolly adelgid is a serious exotic insect pest of Canadian hemlock and Carolina hemlock. It has no natural enemies within this country. Hemlock woolly adelgid was introduced here about 40 years ago from its native country, Japan, where it is not considered a pest. The adelgid is found in the Eastern United States from North Carolina to Southern New England. It feeds by sucking sap from the branches. If controls are not applied to pest infested trees most will die in 3 - 4 years. The insect spreads to host trees by birds, animals, humans and the wind.)
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