Stopping a Tree Killer

Up and down the west side of Lower Michigan, small armies of natural resource professionals and conservation volunteers are scouring the woods and tromping through deep snow searching for killers … infestations of tiny aphid-like insects that suck the life out of Eastern Hemlock trees - the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (HWA). This tiny tree-killing insect reproduces asexually, laying as many as 300 eggs each, each year. With such exponential population growth, these tiny insects can suck the nutrients and life out of a tree within a few years.
Imported from Asia decades ago, this invasive insect has destroyed whole forests in the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. However, HWA is relatively new to Michigan and is found in limited areas giving resource professionals and volunteer conservationists a chance to control this pest and limit the damage.
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