FOX44NOW.COM - Burlington/Plattsburgh News, Weather and SportsInvasive Bugs Have Woken Up!
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Another invasive insect is added to the list in Vermont forests. The hemlock wooly adelgid is showing up in southern Vermont and could continue north.
"As far as we know it hasnt spread any further," explained Barbara Burns of the Vermont Forests, Parks, and Recreation.
The native asian insect is threatening Vermont native hemlock trees. First showing up in Connecticut in 1985 , the insect continues to spread up the Connecticut River Valley. In 2007 they were found in Vermont.
"These warm winters have allowed this insect to move a little further north it had in the past," Burns said.
The invasive pests are waking up from a summer hibernation and will become easier to find through the winter.
"Now's a really good time for folks to go out and look at hemlock trees and look for the little white tufts of wool underneath the branches," Burns said.
Even though now is the time to look, no bigger than a pencil tip, they still aren't easy to find.
"its like looking for a needle in a haystack", Burns said.
If you think you've found an infestation of the hemlock wooly adelgid or any other invasive species, you are encouraged to leave it alone and contact the Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation.
