Have you ever seen an insect mimic? Flies are exceptional bee mimics, presenting with black and yellow coloration to avoid predation. Some flies, as shown below, are often mistaken for bees or wasps because of this. Today’s blog will focus ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Eggplant originated from South Asia and is a frost/cold-sensitive, warm-season plant. With the right conditions, you can grow eggplant (Solanum melongena) in your summer garden. As well as being a staple in the diet, it has also been ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Horticulture
Did you know that the first pollinators were beetles? Shifting the perspective from butterflies to beetles, this blog will focus on beetles as pollinators. Beetles are known to be the first pollinators, dating back to the early cretaceous period ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
When you think of pollinators, what comes to mind? Many immediately think bees, however, bees are not the only insect pollinators out there! While bees are very important and necessary to our ecosystems, butterflies, beetles, and flies are ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Did you know you can grow sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) in your summer garden? Sweet potatoes originated from South America and are accustomed to the hot and humid conditions of Florida's summer season. Sweet potato is a root vegetable, ... READ MORE
Category: Horticulture
Growing plants at home can help supplement your diet and stretch a household food budget. Luckily, there are some warm-season, heat-tolerant edibles that can thrive in a summer garden and produce year after year with the proper care. Heat Tolerant ... READ MORE
Category: Horticulture
The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Eastern lubbers are common in Central/Southern Florida. Eastern lubbers are common in Central/Southern Florida. This time of year, you may see many small black grasshoppers with neon yellow or orange markings. ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Home Landscapes, HorticultureThe Eastern Lubber Grasshopper Does the grasshopper pictured below look familiar to you? Eastern lubbers are common in Central/Southern Florida, especially at this time of year. You may see clusters of small to medium-sized black grasshoppers ... READ MORE
Category: HorticultureHave you seen me before? I am one insect, an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper, Romalea microptera. The Eastern Lubber Grasshopper The two insects above are the same species, photographed at different life stages. The first ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Horticulture
What is a seed? This might seem like a simple question, but seeds play a much larger role than their tiny form might let on. Seeds are one of the most important means of plant reproduction. They carry the genetic material from parent plants ... READ MORE
Category: Crops, Home Landscapes, Horticulture