A Threat to Seattle's Urban Canopy
A state official warns residents about an invasive insect species infesting trees on Madison Street.
C. A. Tonnason, secretary of the state board of agriculture, writes that the maple scale, which was illustrated and described in a recent issue of your valuable paper as found infesting poplar and maple trees on Madison Street, between Third and Seventh, also on other trees in different parts of the city, is now hatching out and should be attacked with spray pumps. The insects are about one month later in hatching this year, owing, perhaps, to the backward season. The live insects appear like small red specks, and with close observation can be detected by the naked eye, and can be seen moving about.
“The live insects appear like small red specks, and with close observation can be detected by the naked eye.”
Invasive species management has been a constant civic issue in Seattle, moving from early 20th-century manual tree-spraying campaigns to modern concerns about emerald ash borers and other pests threatening the city's green infrastructure.
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