UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department
Management practices for your apiary in October: This calendar is meant to be a reference point for management and is not comprehensive. A yearly beekeeping management calendar can be found here Additional resources: Tools for Varroa Management Varroa Sampling Methods (video) How to Quantify Nosema… Read More
Central-place foragers are animals that return to the same nest in between foraging trips, collecting their food, or food for their offspring, in an area around that nest. Animals that are not central-place foragers instead roam continuously, foraging… Read More
If you are outside on a hot day working in the gardening, or taking a walk through a park, you might find a shiny bee resting on your sweaty skin. It is probably a sweat bee! Sweat bees… Read More
Elephants, mosquitoes, and butterflies share something in common – they have a proboscis! A proboscis is simply a long appendage coming out of an animal’s head, and is used to describe the nose or snout of a vertebrate,… Read More
Not all moths are night creatures. In fact, one of the most colorful moths in Florida, the bella moth Utetheisa ornatrix, is active during the day when we can admire its beauty. The wings of the bella moth… Read More
The green orchid bee, Euglossa dilemma Friese, is a large, beautiful, metallic green bee named for its unique association with orchids and its distinctive color. While it can be found in the southern half of Florida, it is not native… Read More
A scopa is a part of a bee’s body that is designed to hold and carry pollen. Bees must transport pollen from the flower, where it is collected, to the bee’s nest, where it is deposited to feed… Read More
Hoverflies, also known as flower flies or syrphid flies, are perhaps the most unrecognized and underappreciated pollinators. They are actually thought by some scientists to be the second most important group of pollinators after bees! This is a… Read More
Pollinators sometimes play favorites when choosing plants to forage on, a behavior known as flower constancy. This behavior can be seen across many different types of pollinators, but is perhaps best known in honey bees and bumble bees…. Read More
The common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, is one of the most frequently found bumble bees across the eastern half of North America. Their native range extends north-south from Ontario to Florida, and east-west from Maine to the… Read More
