Download (PDF 5.34 MB): https://research.fs.usda.gov/download/treesearch/64466.pdf
Abstract
On June 7, 2021, staff at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), received reports of a black substance deposited on Wells Beach in Maine that was staining the bare feet of beachgoers over the previous two days (Edward Smith, personal communication, 2021). Similar reports also came from York, Kennebunk, and Ogunquit Beaches in Maine, Great Island Common beach in New Hampshire, and an unspecified beach in Gloucester, Massachusetts (Figure 1). Numerous news outlets reported on this phenomenon and on the concern from beachgoers about whether this substance could be hazardous (e.g., Mannino and Wlodkowski 2021; Murphy 2021; Russell 2021; Sweeny 2021). Based on photographs submitted by members of the public (Linda Stathoplos and John Lilibridge, personal communication, 2021; Figure 2), and a follow-up site visit, DACF staff quickly concluded that the substance on Wells Beach consisted of countless dead winged insects deposited on the shore by waves as the tide receded.
Citation
Havill, Nathan P.; Dickson, Stephen M.; Kanoti, Allison; Parisio, Michael S.; Weimer, Jennifer; Zembrzuski, Deanna. 2022. Mass deposition of hemlock woolly adelgid sexuparae on New England beaches. Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society. 18: 14–17.
