Adelges tsugae
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Adelges tsugae, the hemlock woolly adelgid or HWA, is an insect of the order Hemiptera (true bugs) native to East Asia. It feeds by sucking sap from hemlock and spruce trees (Tsuga spp.; Picea spp.). In its native range, HWA is not a serious pest because populations are managed by natural predators and parasitoids and by host resistance. In eastern North America it is a destructive pest that threatens the eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) and the Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana). HWA is also found in western North America, where it has likely been present for thousands of years. In western North America, it primarily attacks western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and has only caused minor damage due to natural predators and host resistance. Accidentally introduced to North America from Japan, HWA was first found in the eastern United States near Richmond, Virginia, in 1951. The pest is now found from northern Georgia to coastal Maine and southwestern Nova Scotia as well as areas of western Michigan near the eastern Lake Michigan shoreline. As of 2015, HWA has affected 90% of the geographic range of eastern hemlock in North America.
An adult individual body... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 124 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 31st most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February
In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Hemlock Woolly Adelgid in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, the lowest month.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hemlock Woolly Adelgid sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 3 parks where we can rate Hemlock Woolly Adelgid sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Shenandoah National Park (United States, about 10%) and Great Bear Rainforest (Canada, under 5%).
Same order: Hemiptera
The closest relatives of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (order Hemiptera, True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and allies) are Kudzu Bug (about 20%), Acanthocephala terminalis (about 20%) and Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (124 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
