AUGUSTA — The Maine Forest Service has found a new insect invader

Forest service entomologists say they’ve found a population of elongate hemlock scale at Kittery Point. The discovery marks the first time it’s been found in a natural setting of hemlocks. Previously they’ve been found only in an ornamental landscape setting.

Additional Photos

A heavy infestation of elongate hemlock scale. Courtesy Maine Forest Service

Mike Devine, Maine Forest Service supervisory entomologist, takes a sample of hemlock needles using a basket collection method at Kittery Point, aided by Greg Bjork, MFS entomology technician. Elongate hemlock scale, an invasive pest that can cause hemlock mortality, was found Tuesday for the first time in a natural setting in Maine. Courtesy Maine Forest Service

Already, another invader, the hemlock woolly adelgid (uh-DELL’-jid), has been found in Maine, spreading up the coast from South Portland to Bristol.

Maine Forest Service state entomologist Dave Struble says one of the invaders is bad enough. He says the two of them together is a “recipe to accelerate tree decline and mortality.”

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