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Tiny bug attacking hemlock trees in Kentucky


This hemlock tree stem at the Pine Mountain State Park near Pineville, Ky., photographed Nov. 2, 2006, is infested by the hemlock woolly adelgid, a miniscule sap-sucking insect that has destroyed trees across Appalachia. (AP Photo/Samira Jafari)

PINEVILLE, Ky. - It's going to take a lot of money to combat a tiny bug that's attacking eastern Kentucky's hemlock trees, forestry officials warned Thursday.

The exotic insect, called the hemlock woolly adelgid, has been detected in only two Kentucky state parks, but the minuscule aphid-like insect has already destroyed hemlock trees throughout Appalachia.

The only thing standing in the way of safeguarding Kentucky hemlocks is the lack of funding, said Tim McClure, a state forest health environmental scientist.

"If we don't act on this and put some resources to it, we're looking at a major problem," McClure said at Pine Mountain State Park, the latest site to report infested trees.

Since forestry officials are trying to measure the scope of the adelgid invasion, there's no specific estimate on how much infestations will cost the state or private landowners. Large-scale destruction in neighboring states has cost millions.

McClure said it's not a matter of "if" more Kentucky hemlocks will be under attack, "it's a matter of when."