Fiorinia externa

Participants at yesterday's Greater Cincinnati BYGLive! Diagnostic Walk-About observed Elongate Hemlock Scale (EHS) on its namesake host. This non-native armored scale has a wide conifer host range beyond hemlocks. It may be found on firs, Douglas-fir, spruces, cedars, and occasionally pines and yews. I first came across EHS in southwest Ohio in 2010 infesting a Cilician fir in a high-profile landscape.

I received an e-mail message this past Wednesday from Tom Macy (ODNR) concerning efforts to discover locations of the non-native elongate hemlock scale in Ohio and other states. His message included two attached images taken by Bill Laubscher (Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry) on November 20 that showed both the scale as well as odd looking blackened accretions on hemlock needles.