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A controlled burn at Austin Cary Memorial Forest. Photo taken 01-26-19.

Where There’s Fire, There’s Smoke: Air Quality and Prescribed Burning in Florida

by Susan Gildersleeve
April 24, 2022

The hazy skies, the smell of smoke in the air, and, for some, irritated eyes or a scratchy throat. Living in Florida, most of us are familiar with the downsides of a wildfire nearby. If the fire is large enough, it might not even need to be ... READ MORE

Category: Forests
Tags: Adam C. Watts, Austin K. Dixon, David R. Godwin, Leda N. Kobziar, Martha C. Monroe, Prescribed Burning, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences
Urban forestry in Tampa Bay, Florida.

Urban Trees, Pollen, and Allergenicity

by Amanda Quintos
April 4, 2022

Today is the day. A friend who moved away years ago is returning for a visit, and you can hardly wait to get outside with your picnic basket. Until you see it: the coat of pollen all over your car. You and your friend both have allergies. Still, ... READ MORE

Category: Forests, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Natural Resources, Work & Life
Tags: Landscape Trees, Lawn And Garden, Pollen, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Urban Forestry

Happy Arbor Day!

by Paul Roberts
April 30, 2021

Happy Arbor Day, Florida! Trees help us humans out in a lot of different ways. They take in our carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen that we breathe. They give us shade and hold the soil in place, preventing erosion. They provide animals ... READ MORE

Category: Forests, Home Landscapes
Tags: Arbor Day, Environmental Horticulture Department, Landscape Trees, Planting, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatics Sciences, Shade Trees, Tree Identification
Figure 1. Pillbug, Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille), rolled into a ball.

Pillbug, Roly-Poly, Woodlouse Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille) (Malacostraca: Isopoda: Armadillidiidae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
September 11, 2015

The roly poly is an isopod, a type of non-insect arthropod also known as a terrestrial crustacean. It is called a roly-poly because it rolls into ball when disturbed. This defensive behavior also makes it look like a pill, which is why it is ... READ MORE

Category: Forests, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease
Tags: #UFBugs, Crustacea, Entomology And Nematology Department, Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, Julie A. Franklin, Morgan A. Byron, Soil Arthropods
Figure 1. Dorsal view of an adult black turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans (Olivier). Its large size, trapezoidal pronotum, and rounded declivity distinguish it from all other bark beetles infesting pines in the southern United States. Credit: Adam Black and Jiri Hulcr, University of Florida

Black Turpentine Beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans (Olivier) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 31, 2015

Black turpentine beetles bore into the inner bark of stressed or injured pines, where they breed and feed on phloem tissue. Adults are strongly attracted to volatile pine odors and readily breed in fresh stumps. In typical forests, infestations ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Forests, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Albert E. Mayfield, Bark Beetles, Curculionidae, Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Jiri Hulcr, John L. Foltz
Figure 1. Adult female Xyleborus affinis. Credit: Jiri Hulcr, UF/IFAS

An ambrosia beetle Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff, 1868 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 31, 2015

Xyleborus affinis is one of the most widespread and common ambrosia beetles in the world. It is also very common in Florida. Like other ambrosia beetles, it bores tunnels into the xylem of weakened, cut or injured trees and farms gardens of ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Forests, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Ambrosia Beetles, Andrea Lucky, Curculionidae, Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Jiri Hulcr, Lanette Sobel
Figure 3. Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura). A- antenna. B- metatibial spur. Abdomen (C) and mesonotum (D) with long golden setae (hair-like projections). Credit: You Li, University of Florida

Asian Horntail Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricidae: Tremicinae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 31, 2015

Since it was introduced to North America, the Asian woodwasp has become the most common wood wasp in Florida. It is not considered an economically important pest because it only attacks dying or dead trees, but the species may someday prove ... READ MORE

Category: Forests, Natural Resources
Tags: Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Jiri Hulcr, You Li

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