Q: I found the largest beetle I have ever seen. Could it possibly be from one of the Caribbean countries? I found it on one of the tropical plants which comes from a warmer climate. A: The large beetle is the Eastern Hercules beetle, Dynastes ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: It is not rare but a wonderful treat for you to find it feeding on your palm tree fronds. It is called a Two-stabbed ladybird beetle, Chilocorus stigma. They love to feed on scale and aphids. The term ladybird is a name used in England for ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home LandscapesOn Tuesday, the 20th of June, the Pasco County Board of Commissioners passed the first county Urban Agriculture Ordinance in the State of Florida. With this leap forward, the UF/IFAS Pasco County Extension, Community Gardens (CG) Program is ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, UF/IFAS Extension
Q: I was visiting my sister-in-law in Ponte Vedra a couple of days ago and she showed me a rose bush with damaged leaves. The leaves were systematically bitten on the outside edge and each bite was about half inch in diameter, perfectly round ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease
Q: I have found several small bees hovering in my lawn. They are white and black so I know they are not yellow jackets. They don’t seem to be aggressive but I wonder if I should be concerned? A: You know how much I enjoy seeing insects and ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: Andrenidae is the family which contains mining bees. These bees build nests in the ground and they are generally solitary creatures. Mining bees are usually darker in color and smaller than the honey bees. Large, empty areas in the lawn provide ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: The insect you brought me is an assassin bug and although his name sounds menacing he is beneficial to man because he hunts insects that cause tremendous damage to our plants. We called these types of insects predators, which are organisms ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: This is a beautiful example of the velvet ant or cow killer, which in reality is neither an ant nor a cow killer. Actually, the velvet ant belongs to the wasp family. The name “cow killer” comes from the tremendous pain inflicted by the ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: The insects you found are actually tiny ants, Cyphomyrmex rimosus. These insects were so tiny I had to look at them under a stereoscope. This was the first time I had seen this particular ant – they are quite menacing. Colonies can be polygamous, ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes
A: Fire ants are one of Florida’s most aggressive landscape pests. Gardeners experience these biting and stinging insects almost daily. The easiest control method is to use baits. There are a few important things to know about the baits in ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease