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Tag: Entomology and Nematology Department

Figure 1. Female vespiform thrips showing constricted waist and white band. Credit: Runqian Mao, University of Florida

Vespiform Thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 31, 2015

Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford is a predatory thrips with a pantropical distribution. The distinctive red, humped-back larvae and fast-moving ant-like adults are predaceous on small arthropods. In addition to being easily mistaken for ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Home Landscapes, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Beneficial Insects, Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Runqian Mao, Steven P. Arthurs, Thysanoptera, Yingfang Xiao
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)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
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)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
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)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
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 3. Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura). A- antenna. B- metatibial spur. Abdomen (C) and mesonotum (D) with long golden setae (hair-like projections). Credit: You Li, University of Florida

Asian Horntail Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricidae: Tremicinae)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 31, 2015

Since it was introduced to North America, the Asian woodwasp has become the most common wood wasp in Florida. It is not considered an economically important pest because it only attacks dying or dead trees, but the species may someday prove ... READ MORE

Category: Forests, Natural Resources
Tags: Entomology And Nematology Department, Featured Creatures Collection, Jiri Hulcr, You Li
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)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
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

Tawny Crazy Ant

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
July 2, 2015

As of 2012, tawny crazy ants have invaded several areas of the southeastern United States, including 24 counties in Florida and parts of southeast Texas. The tawny crazy ant is considered a serious pest. This species infests buildings and greenhouses; ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Home Management, Pests & Disease, Work & Life
Tags: Entomology And Nematology Department, Pests In And Around The Southern Home, Philip G. Koehler, Rebecca W. Baldwin, Roberto M. Pereira, S. K. Hill, Tawny Crazy Ants
Camponotus floridanus, Credit: Buss

Florida Carpenter Ants

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
June 19, 2015

Carpenter ants are in the genus Camponotus, in which up to over 900 species have been described worldwide. They get their common name, "carpenter ant," because some species excavate nests in wood. Carpenter ants are sometimes called bulldog ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Home Management, Pests & Disease
Tags: Ants, Entomology And Nematology Department, John Warner, Pests In And Around The Southern Home, Philip G. Koehler, R. J. Vazquez, R. Scheffrahn, Roberto M. Pereira
Figure 1. Exposed African bee nest on a tree limb.

African Honey Bee: What You Need to Know

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
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
Figure 10. Five tracheal mites visible in a dissected honey bee trachea (140× magnification).

How to Dissect Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) to Detect Tracheal Mites (Acarapis woodi Rennie)

by Diana Hagan (she/her)
June 18, 2015

Tracheal mites are parasites of the western honey bee and negatively impact the health and productivity of an infested colony. This 6-page fact sheet details the method of dissecting honey bees in order to diagnose tracheal mites. Written by ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Pests & Disease, Professional Development
Tags: Ashley N. Mortensen, Bee Pest Management, Entomology And Nematology Department, J. D. Ellis, John Bonkowski

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