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
No, it’s not true. Not by a long shot. Not even close. NO! This rumor’s been around for decades and its origins are unknown. But we can tell you a few things to bust this myth: First, it’s clearly contradicted by the historical record: The ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Wildlife
Hello, and welcome to the first installment of "Regular-Sized Bugs on the Big Screen." This series of posts is BugWeek’s way of saluting real arthropods that make cameo appearances in films – they get less attention than their unnaturally ... READ MORE
Category: Wildlife
Perhaps you've noticed that our Bug Week writings often contain Latin terms for bugs. For example, if we mention the common bed bug we’ll probably reference its scientific name, Cimex lectularius. Or when we talk about grasshoppers we might ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Forests, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Water, 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 ExtensionThe 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 ExtensionIf you see sap coming out of a tree it could be caused by many different things. Damage to a tree trunk or limb can cause sap to leak out. This is natural wound protection for the tree. The sap comes out and covers up a wound to prevent plant ... READ MORE
Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS ExtensionThat depends on your definition of ‘here.’ No breeding populations of any species of recluse spiders (Loxosceles laeta, Loxosceles reclusa, and Loxosceles rufescens have all been found in the state), has been found in any Florida county ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Forests, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Recreation, Work & LifeScientific studies have shown the mosquito-repelling effectiveness of the chemical N,N-Diethyl-meta-toluamide, which is better known by the acronym DEET. Although people have reported good results with other options ranging from cosmetics to ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Health & Nutrition, Home Landscapes, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Recreation, Work & Life