Tag: Invasive

’Tis the season for courting iguanas: Ask IFAS unwraps bilingual guide with timely tips

by Lourdes Mederos
December 2, 2025

Just in time for the holiday season — and the start of the iguana mating period — the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) has unwrapped a bilingual resource for living with one of Florida’s most ... READ MORE

Category: , Home Landscapes, Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Ask IFAS, Ask IFAS En Español, Bilingual, Damage, Florida Law, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Green Iguanas, Herbivores, Homeowners, Iguana, Invasive, Legal Considerations, Mating Period, News, Non Native, Personal Property, Plants, Resources, South Florida Landscape, Species, Spiny-tailed Iguanas, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, Unprotected

Innovative tool offers palm owners, growers new line of defense against trunk rot, protecting iconic trees

by Lourdes Mederos
November 13, 2025

Ever wonder why some palm varieties flourish while others suddenly bend at the trunk or topple over completely? From the iconic coconut palm to towering royal palms, these signature features of Florida’s landscapes are facing a silent ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Conservation, Crops, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Advancement, Biological Controls, Braham Dhillon, Canary Island Date Palms, Coconut Palm, Conservation, Date Palms, Disease, Disease Resistance, Entomology And Nematology, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fronds, Fungicides, Germplasm Collection, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Leaflets, Lethal Fungus, Monica Elliott, News, Palm, Palm Landscape, Pathogens, Plant Pathology, Plant Pathology Department, Research, Resilient, Royal Palms, Thielaviopsis Trunk Rot, Trunk Rot, U.S. Department Of Agriculture Southern Sustainable Agriculture Research And Education (USDA-SSARE), UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, USDA, USDA-ARS, Wahingtonia Palms

Golden oyster mushrooms cultivated, sold in Florida: Scientist urges caution

by Lourdes Mederos
November 3, 2025

The golden oyster mushroom, with bright yellow pillowy caps, are a popular buy that are sold in grow-your-own kits as well as standard grocery stores, farmer and gourmet markets. A University of Florida researcher warns it is quietly invading ... READ MORE

Category: , Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Citizen Science, Culinary Connoisseurs, Culinary Mushroom Enthusiasts, Cultivating, Disrupt Ecosystems, Ecosystems, Farmer Market, Fungal Communities, Fungal Diseases, Golden Oyster Mushrooms, Gourmet Market, Grocery Stores, Grow-your-own Kits, Human Activities, Inaturalist, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Invasive Species, Michelle Jusino, Mushroom Observer, News, Research, School Of Forest Fisheries And Geomatic Sciences, Transporting, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida

How one UF/IFAS Extension agent is planting the seeds for a greener St. Lucie County – together with residents

by Lourdes Mederos
September 15, 2025

From backyard gardens to countywide conservation, Sara Salgado MacDonald is helping St. Lucie County residents grow greener, healthier landscapes. As an urban horticulture Extension agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, Agriculture, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS
Tags: Biological Control, Entomology And Nematology, Environmental Horticulture, Florida Vegetable Gardening, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Gardening, Herb Gardening, Horticultural Sciences, Horticulture, IFAS, Insects, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasive, Master Gardener Volunteer Program, News, Pollinators, Robert O’Neil Award For Outstanding Ph.D. Student In Biological Control 2023, Sara Salgado MacDonald, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension St. Lucie County, University Of Florida, Urban Horticulture, Vegetable Gardening

Be on the lookout (B.O.L.O) for these invasive insects

by Larry Figart
September 15, 2025

The term “invasive species” has been getting a lot of press lately. We hear about invasive animals such as the Burmese Python, Lionfish, and Cuban treefrogs. Invasive plants like kudzu, air potato, and Brazilian pepper. Even invasive ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Arboriculture, Ash, Duval, EAB, Florida, Insects, Invasive, Lanternfly, Trees, Urban Forestry

Science by the millions: How everyday people are revolutionizing global biodiversity research with tech

by Lourdes Mederos
July 28, 2025

A frog croaks from a walking trail. A hiker snaps a photo and uploads it to iNaturalist. That single act — one person, one amphibian and one click — feeds into a growing global dataset that scientists now use to map shifting species ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Community Volunteers, Conservation, Forests, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, Wildlife
Tags: Agencies, Agricultural Technology Firms, Aquatic Invasives, Biodiversity, BioScience, Brittany Mason, Citizen Science, Conservation, Corey Callaghan, Dataset, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Fungi, Global Ecology, High-resolution Maps, Inaturalist, INaturalist App, Invasive, Lourdes Mederos, Map Shifting, Modeling, News, Observations, Organisms, Photo, Plants, Research Grade, Scientists, Species Ranges, Study, Technology, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, University Of Florida Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Wildlife Ecology And Conservation

UF taps global invasion ecology expert to lead new era of the Invasion Science Institute

by Lourdes Mederos
June 13, 2025

In the summer of 2000, a young undergraduate named Luke Flory was knee-deep in invasive plant species at a nature preserve in northern Indiana, with a backpack slung over his shoulder, filled with tools to study and manage invasive species. ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Agroecology, Biological Invasions, CALS, College Of Agricultural And Life Sciences, Department Of Biology, Department Of Plant Pathology, Director, Environmental Stressors, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, International Food Systems, Invasion Ecology, Invasions Science Institute, Invasive, Invasive Plant Ecology, Invasive Species In Florida, ISI, J. Scott Angle, Lourdes Mederos, Luke Flory, News, Non-native Species, Plant Pathology, Scott Angle, The Flory Lab, Tropical Conservation And Development Program, UF-IFAS, UF/IFAS Agronomy Department, University Of Florida Invasion Science Institute

UF/IFAS scientists confirm hybrid termites established in Florida

by Lourdes Mederos
May 21, 2025

Scientists confirm that two of the world’s most destructive invasive termite species are not only spreading in the United States but also hybridizing – the process of two different species crossbreeding to produce a hybrid. This raises ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, , Home Management, Invasive Species, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Asian Subterranean Termites, Biology, Entomology And Nematology, Formosan Subterranean Termites, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Genetic, Hybrid, IFAS, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Invasion, Invasion Science, Invasive, Lourdes Mederos, News, Proceedings Of The Royal Society B, Structural Damage, Termite Soldier, Termites, Thomas Chouvenc

Subscribe For More Great Content