EASTERN HEMLOCK - (this blog was prepared for use as a presentation at the Creation Appreciation nature center)

The hemlock tree is the giant of the eastern forests,  It can grow nearly 200 feet tall and almost 60 inches round.  The Eastern Hemlock is the state tree of Pennsylvania.

 The Hemlocks natural area in Perry County is a 140 acre stand of "old growth" hemlocks.  I have fond memories of the late 1960s and early 1970s when  I spent many days hiking there, among some of the oldest and largest Hemlock trees in the country.  This experience is one of the most pleasant memories I have of those days.  Today the Hemlocks Natural Area is a "ghost forest" full of dead giants laying on the ground or standing bare of needles and ready to fall.  It is not safe to hike among them . especially on windy days.

I visited there several times recently and shed tears.   Soon most of the hemlock trees in America will be dead,  Only those treated with insecticide will survive.  Nothing stands the test of time but JESUS.

The Woolly Adelheid - a tiny insect, so small that it can barely be seen with the naked eye.
These adults and their larva kill the tree by sucking the "juice" from the needles.

The ege sack of the Woolly Adelheid (were the name Woolly comes from).
Notice the very tiny larva called a crawler.

An adult insect laying eggs.

The "woolly" egg sacks are located on the underside of the branch where the needle attaches..