May Highlight: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid – An Update Landowners, loggers and outdoor enthusiasts in southern Vermont are asked to be on the look out for the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid. This small insect feeds on new shoots causing discoloration, desiccation and needle loss. Tree mortality may occur in four to six years, although some trees have survived with sparse foliage for more than ten years. Infested areas have experienced extensive decline and mortality of both forest stands and urban/suburban landscape hemlocks. Introduced from Asia, where it does little harm, this tiny insect was first spotted in the 1920s in western North America where the native hemlocks are resistant and there have been no major problems. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid was observed in Virginia in the early 1950s and has now spread to sixteen states from Georgia to Maine. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid has few natural enemies in the East and native eastern and Carolina Hemlocks are not resistant. In some southern areas, like the Shenandoah National Park, hemlocks are in danger of disappearing. Hemlock is an important component of the forest ecosystem and its loss would have wide ranging impacts on wildlife habitat, water quality, soil characteristics and aesthetics, to mention a few.   See the rest of this month's highlight here. View Previous Monthly Features ................................. Vermont ACORN has a new address! http://vtacorn.net Please go there for full site functionality, and add the new site to your bookmarks. Needed: Landowners with a stand of White Oak

**Link of the Month** USDA Forest Service Hemlock Woolly Adelgid site