Tiny invasive insect confirmed in another Michigan county

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — A tiny invasive insect continues to spread across the state. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has confirmed the presence of hemlock woolly adelgid in Leelanau County .

The insects were found on trees on a private property in Leelanau Township. This makes Leelanau the ninth county where they have been spotted, almost exclusively near the Lake Michigan coastline: Allegan, Antrim, Benzie, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa and Washtenaw counties.

Adelgids are often spotted by the white, waxy ovisacs they excrete on the trees in the fall and winter where they feed. Those tiny white ovisacs are between one-fourth and one-sixteenth of an inch and can be found on the underside at the base of the hemlock’s needles.

DNR expert Drew Hayner said the bugs primarily spread by hitching rides on humans and other animals.

“There’s a lot of vectors,” Rayner told News 8 in 2022 . “Animals can spread them; birds and wildlife can pick up crawlers. We have crawlers from spring through the early summer that we aren’t really going to be able to see (when) humans and animals brush up against the branches of an infested tree.”

Because hemlock woolly adelgids are pulling nutrients from the trees, the hemlocks stop growing and their needles develop a grayish tone. But with treatment — assuming they are caught in time — the insects are killed and the trees can recuperate.

According to the DNR , Michigan is home to more than 170 million mature hemlock trees, which provide important habitat and coverage for wildlife during the winter.

If you spot a tree that you believe is infested with hemlock woolly adelgid, do not remove the material. The DNR asks you to take photos and note the location of the tree, then submit the information to the agency. You can learn more about the invasive species through the DNR’s website .

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