UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department
If you have ever seen what looks like clumps of dirt ascending your walls, you are actually seeing an insect. The “dirt” is actually a case that surrounds a household casebearer caterpillar (Figure 1), which is the larval… Read More
Though it sounds like the new craze in carbonated beverages, tropical soda apple is not refreshing or fun. A prickly shrub from the nightshade family, tropical soda apple is known scientifically as Solanum viarum. It’s native to South… Read More
The word arbovirus is an example of a portmanteau, a word that was created by mashing together portions of other words. It’s a noun that means “arthropod-borne virus,” but takes less time to say. The word was created… Read More
When you have an infestation of bed bugs (Figure 1), bleach should not be used as a control method. Bleach can be harmful to people if not used carefully, and it will not work effectively to completely… Read More
The twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is a total glutton. Infamous for eating just about everything – more than 200 species of ornamental, vegetable and fruit crops – the twospotted spider mite is the most economically important species… Read More
Entomopathogenic is a long adjective that simply means, “capable of causing disease in insects.” Most commonly, the term refers to nematodes, fungi or bacteria that cause potentially fatal diseases in insects. Entomopathogenic organisms play an important role in… Read More
Those little, squirming things in your birdbath are container-breeding mosquitoes (Figure 1). These mosquitoes are in their larval stage. Adult container-breeding mosquitoes lay eggs wherever water collects, which can be natural structures—like bromeliads—or artificial ones with standing water—like… Read More
In England they have been called ladybirds for over 600 years, but in the United States we call them ladybugs. The name is a misnomer, though – these insects are not bugs at all, but are actually beetles… Read More
The word “phytophagous” is an adjective that means “plant-eating,” and it’s typically used to describe arthropods that feed on the tissues of living plants, but not those that consume pollen or nectar. You’ve probably also heard the term… Read More
Between April and November, you might notice spike-tailed green worms (Figure 1) feasting on your tomato plants’ leaves and fruit. These voracious creatures ravaging your garden are caterpillars called tobacco or tomato hornworms. The caterpillars are the larval… Read More
