honey bee

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services new Plant Pay Portal: What Florida Beekeepers Need to Know

by Amy Vu
March 10, 2026

If you're a Florida beekeeper (or interested in becoming one), there is a new portal through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), called Plant Pay. The FDACS Plant Pay Portal is designed to pay invoices, manage ... READ MORE

Category: Livestock, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Fdacs, Honey, Honey Bee, UFBugs, UFHoneyBee, UFHoneyBeeLab, UFIFASExtension
instrumental insemination equipment

Strengthening Honey Bee Colonies Through Queen Instrumental Insemination

by Amy Vu
March 5, 2026

Background Honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) continue to face significant losses, largely due to stressors like the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. While chemical treatments are commonly used to treat Varroa, growing resistance has made ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Livestock, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Bees, Entomology, Honey Bee, Honeybee, Pests, Pollination, UF/IFAS, UFBugs, UFHoneyBee, UFHoneyBeeLab, UFIFASExtension
small hive beetle in cups

Research Update: Evaluating the Toxicity of Known Western Honey Bee-Safe Insecticides in Controlling Small Hive Beetles (Aethina tumida)

by Amy Vu
March 3, 2026

Members of the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory conducted a research project evaluating the toxicity of pesticides on small hive beetles (SHBs) that have previously shown to have low toxicity to honey bees. Below is a summary ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Livestock, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Beekeeping, Bees, Entomology, Honey Bee, Honeybee, Pests, Pollination, UF/IFAS, UFBugs, UFHoneyBee, UFHoneyBeeLab, UFIFASExtension
honey bees on comb

Research Update: Contact Exposure to Environmentally Relevant Pesticide Residues in Beeswax May Affect Honey Bees in a Laboratory Setting

by Amy Vu
January 27, 2026

Members of the UF/IFAS Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory in collaboration with researchers located at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil conducted a research project studying the effects of contact exposure to ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Livestock, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Female regal jumping spider, Phidippus regius, Adobe Stock, by kristof.foto

Creepy, crawly, and totally cool: Florida’s “spooktacular” spiders aren’t so scary after all

by Meredith Bauer-Mitchell
October 28, 2025

As Halloween approaches, it’s the perfect time to spotlight some of Florida’s coolest and spookiest spiders —that aren’t so scary after all. Spiders are often misunderstood, but many are shy, harmless and downright fascinating. Lisa ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Halloween, Jumping Spider, Lisa Anne Taylor, Spider

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