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Category: Pests & Disease

Figure 1. Adult female black scales, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) on cultivated olive (Olea europaea L.). Credit: Lyle Buss, University of Florida

Black Scale Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae)


July 31, 2015

The black scale is an important pest of citrus and olive trees. Originally from South Africa, this scale is now distributed worldwide. In Florida, black scale is found on citrus, cultivated olive, avocado, and many popular landscape plants. ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Citrus Pests, Coccoidea (scales), Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, Morgan A. Byron, Olive Pests, Sandra A. Allan
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)


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)


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 9. Schematic diagram showing detailed morphological features of a dagger nematode, Xiphinema spp.

Dagger Nematode Xiphinema spp. (Cobb, 1913) Inglis, 1983 (Nematoda: Enoplea: Dorylaimia: Dorylaimina: Xiphinematinae)


July 31, 2015

Dagger nematodes parasitize plants. They cause economic damage and death of host crops through feeding on the roots and by spreading viral mosaic and wilting diseases, but field studies have shown that some control measures targeting reduction ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Nematoda, Tesfamarian Mengistu, William K. Heve, William T. Crow

Doveweed (Murdannia nudiflora) Control in Warm-Season Turfgrass Species


July 14, 2015

Doveweed is an aggressive, naturalized summer annual weed that rapidly invades warm-season turfgrass species, especially in residential lawns, and few herbicides can effectively control it. Because of these challenges, a well-designed management ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf
Tags: Agronomy Department, Commelinaceae (taxonomic Family), J.Bryan Unruh, Lawn Weeds, Ramon G. Leon, West Florida REC

What are these little bugs in my house that look like they roll into a ball?

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July 10, 2015

The pillbug, Armadillidium vulgare (Latreille), is an isopod, a type of non-insect arthropod also known as a terrestrial crustacean. It is sometimes called a roly-poly due to its ability to roll into ball when threatened or bothered. This defense ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: BugWeek, Entomology, FAQ, Insects, Pest
Picture Name: 06122S Chestnut Hill Nursery, near Gainesville, FL. UF/IFAS Photo: Thomas Wright

Biology and Management of Long-Stalked Phyllanthus in Ornamental Crop Production


July 2, 2015

This 5-page fact sheet discusses the characteristics of long-stalked phyllanthus and explains how to control its growth in a nursery environment. Written by Theresa Chormanski, Chris Marble, and Lyn Gettys, and published by the UF Department ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Pests & Disease
Tags: Chris Marble, Environmental Horticulture Department, Lyn A. Gettys, Nursery Weeds, Theresa Chormanski

First detector Training: July 16th

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July 1, 2015

We will cover several potential invasive pests from foreign imported plants or that could attack your crops in South Florida. Agenda Palm weevils, Bargrada bug, Slugs and snails, Sugarcane mosaic virus, Fusarium wilt of queen palm and ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: CEU Class, First Detector, Invasive Pest, Miami, Pests, UF, UF IFAS Extension

Barn owls threatened by Africanized bees in South Florida

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June 19, 2015

Belle Glade, Fla. --- Throughout the past two decades, University of Florida researcher Richard Raid has seen barn owl populations in the Everglades Agricultural Area, centered around Belle Glade, expand from mere dozens to more than 400 nesting ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS
Tags: Entomology, Entomology And Nematology, Everglades Research And Education Center, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, University Of Florida
Figure 1. Exposed African bee nest on a tree limb.

African Honey Bee: What You Need to Know


June 18, 2015

African honey bees entered the United States in the early 1990s and have since spread throughout the Southwest and Southeast, including parts of Florida. Compared to European bees, African bees are highly aggressive when disturbed and are more ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Africanized Honey Bee, Catherine M. Zettel Nalen, Entomology And Nematology Department, Glenn Hall, J. D. Ellis, Master Gardener Handbook

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