I was recently in coastal North Carolina with Extension colleagues from around the country. In addition to attending presentations on natural resource programming, we attended field tours built into the meeting. I joined a group visiting ... READ MORE
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If you ask most people, they can probably tell you their favorite animal. But it’s mostly us true botany dorks who will drop the Latin name of their favorite tree. For a long time, it was Quercus virginiana (live oak) for me. Sturdy ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources
It’s that time again – No Mow March. This is a chance to give the mower and the bees a break. This will be the fourth year we have promoted the No Mow March campaign, which started based on an idea received from a Leon County citizen in ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Lawn
When maintaining a garden, knowing the difference between your enemies and the “good guys” is half the battle. Once, I was teaching a group of landscape maintenance folks about beneficial insects, and quizzed them on their bug identification ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources
In the 1950’s 60’s the screwworm was an ongoing burden with livestock but over years with research, breeding sterile male flies and monitoring it was eliminated in United States. Then in 2016 they were detected in Monroe County that wiped ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Farm Management, Livestock, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension,
I have never come across the brilliantly colored rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) in the wild before, but our Master Naturalist class was introduced to a member of this species during the fight of its life yesterday. We took a trip ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources, Wildlife
Vegetable production season brings a bounty of food for us and, unfortunately, also for crop pests. Thankfully, many naturally occurring beneficial insects, fungi, nematodes, wildlife, and other organisms (AKA beneficials) find their food forest ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
¿Alguna vez has visto un pequeño insecto correr por la superficie de tu cocina y pensado: “¡Oh no, es una cucaracha pequeña!”? No entres en pánico todavía; no todos los insectos pequeños y marrones son cucarachas. De hecho, muchos ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Recreation, UF/IFAS Extension
Whiteflies may be tiny, but they can cause major headaches for farmers in the Suwannee Valley and across North Florida—especially in the late summer and fall. If you’ve grown vegetables during this season, you’ve probably noticed the clouds ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Pests & Disease
The intricate camouflage developed within the animal kingdom never fails to fascinate me. From fish that look like seagrass blades to butterflies that look like tree bark—or a pair of eyes—the variety, color, and textures are just mind-boggling. ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources