Green Menace

With 6 weeks of sunshine and no rain it did not seem so surprising that many of our shallow rooted spruce trees were looking brown and desiccated. However, a more sinister reason lurks among the needles. Along with many other forests in the north of England our spruce trees have been attacked by green spruce aphids . (Elatobium abietinum) These are native to Central Europe but have found a foothold in the UK. They are particularly fond of sucking the juices out of Sitka spruces, the nation’s main timber crop, and this year they have reached mammoth numbers. Toxin in their spit kills the needles, which will soon fall off. Once this happens and there is no more food for aphids they will die. The picture above shows their tiny dead grey bodies. Although thankfully, the affected trees rarely succumb , it sets their growth back a year or two until they recover.
Here is a link to Forest Research which gives more information about the plague.
 
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/fthr/pest-and-disease-resources/green-spruce-aphid-elatobium-abietinum/