Beetles Released in Cooperstown To Control Invasive Insect
COOPERSTOWN—It’s not as spectacular as releasing a hawk or bear back into the wild after an injury, but the release that took place in Cooperstown on Thursday, March 26 may be more important.
According to a press release, the Otsego County Conservation Association and Mohican Farm/The Clark Foundation released 236 predatory beetles at Fairy Spring Park last week to control the population of hemlock woolly adelgid.
The release was the culmination of a process that began when the invasive insect was first found at Fairy Spring Park in December 2021. Hemlock woolly adelgid is a tiny insect native to the Pacific Northwest, Japan and eastern Asia. Once an infestation takes hold, the insects can kill healthy trees in as little as 10 years, making early detection and treatment critical, OCCA officials said.
The beetles, Laricobius nigrinus, were sent to Cooperstown by the New York State Hemlock Initiative, based at Cornell University. NYSHI researches the integrated pest management of hemlock woolly adelgid, and has released Laricobius at more than 20 sites in the state since 2008. Recently, NYSHI announced that the beetles had successfully established breeding populations in the Hudson Valley. The beetles released in Cooperstown had been collected in the Pacific Northwest.
