Look for and Report Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
Help stop the spread of hemlock woolly adelgid, by surveying and reporting your findings to the DEC.
Hemlock needles have two white lines on the undersides.
Hemlock woolly adelgid can be identified in several stages; however, the most obvious indication is the white woolly substance found on the base of the needles of hemlock trees. This woolly substance is actually a mass of eggs, but can remain on the needles year round after the eggs hatch. Nymphs, or crawlers, emerge from the eggs and look like tiny brown specs, about the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Hemlock woolly adelgid can be difficult to spot because of its tiny size, but the unique cottony egg mass is the main indication you should look for.
Please use the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Brochure (PDF) (4.5 Mb) to learn how to spot infestations, and the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Survey Form (PDF) (132 Kb) to report what you see (even if you don't find hemlock woolly adelgids.)
You can also call DEC's forest pest hotline at 1-866-640-0652 or email photos to us.
