It may feel as though ants, no matter what you seem to do, will never leave your house. There are several reasons why ants continue to find their way inside your home. Doing dishes every day and keeping food properly sealed may not be enough ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
Throughout early spring, leaf buds on deciduous trees open up into fresh, green leaves. Our recently bare and bland landscapes are green again. We aren't the only ones who are excited about this, though. Leaf-eating insects are too. Early spring ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Welcome to the new online habitat, er, home for the University of Florida’s Bug Week! The UF/IFAS Web Team has designed this terrific new website, where you’ll find information about all the Bug Week 2016 activities, along with plenty ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Wildlife
You may have noticed branches covered in these strange structures (Figure 1) during the spring, typically in March. These are tents constructed by eastern tent caterpillars, the larval stage of a Lasiocampid moth—a hairy and golden-brown colored ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS
The ladybug (Figure 1), or ladybird, is the common name given to beetles in the Coccinellidae family. This is misleading because not all ladybugs are ladies; they can be either female or male. It is difficult to determine the sex of a ladybug, ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures that will answer that question! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Psorophora ferox, (Figure 1) known unofficially as the white-footed woods mosquito (King ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & LifeIt seems like science fiction, but insects can have their brains reprogrammed by fungi and even other insects! These zombies are common and may even be in your garden. We are mesmerized by the many examples of tormentors and the tormented. ... READ MORE
Category: Home LandscapesHave you ever crave something crunchy, spicy, and savory? You are probably thinking of potato chips or chicken wings. You will be interested to know that there is another crunchy, spicy, and savory food that is also healthy and high in protein. ... READ MORE
Category: UF/IFAS Extension
We have a new article on Featured Creatures that will answer that question! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Morpho peleides Kollar, the blue morpho butterfly, also known as the peleides blue morpho or common blue morpho, ... READ MORE
Category: 4-H & Youth, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension, Work & Life
This leaf is not really a leaf at all. You are actually seeing an insect: a katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) (Figure 1). On closer inspection, what you may have referred to as a grasshopper is, in fact, related to grasshoppers but is not ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension