Category: Conservation

September 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
September 8, 2025

Recap of September 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector This September, we continued our tradition of kicking off another year of First Fridays webinars with a refresher on the fundamentals of invasive species. Whether you're brand ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD25-26, FloridaFirstDetector, SeminoleCountyAg

July 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
July 14, 2025

Recap of July 2025 First Friday with Florida First Detector Oak trees play a vital role in our ecosystems, providing food, shelter, and beauty across the globe. In the United States, there are about 90 native oak species, with 24 found right ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, Eradication, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Oaks, Quarantine, SeminoleCountyAg

First Fridays with Florida First Detector, Schedule available Sept 2025-2026!

by Morgan Pinkerton
June 30, 2025

What is Florida First Detector? Florida First Detector is a multiagency educational effort focused on enhancing the early detection of invasive pests that threaten agriculture, nursery industries, and natural areas. We offer in-person and ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, FFD25-26, Florida First Detector, FloridaFirstDetector, Invasive Species, Plant Protection, SeminoleCountyAg

September 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
September 9, 2024

Recap of September 2024 First Friday with Florida First Detector This webinar kicks off our third year of First Friday with Florida First Detector! In honor of another year, we went back to the basics on invasive species. For anyone new to ... READ MORE

Category: Agribusiness, AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, Fruits & Vegetables, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Livestock, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, FFD24-25, FloridaFirstDetector, Invasive Species, Sample Submission

June First Friday with Florida First Detector

by Morgan Pinkerton
June 5, 2023

Recap of June First Friday with Florida First Detector Oak trees are important to our environment with various species growing throughout the world and 24 species native to Florida (90 in the U.S.). With the wide distribution of oaks, especially ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Forests, HOME LANDSCAPES, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Biosecurity, Early Detection, FFD22-23, FloridaFirstDetector, Invasive Species, SeminoleCountyAg

New on Featured Creatures! Coastal plain hesperapis (suggested common name)

by Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman
January 23, 2015

We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Hesperapis oraria Snelling and Stage is a specialized, solitary bee belonging to the family Melittidae (Dasypodainae). Hesperapis ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, HOME LANDSCAPES, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Tags: Bees, Featured Creatures, FL Natives, UF/IFAS Pest Alert

New on Featured Creatures! Giant woolly bear (larva), giant or great leopard moth (adult)

by Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman
August 11, 2014

We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: The giant leopard moth is our largest eastern tiger moth. It was formerly in the family Arctiidae which now composes the ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Forests, Natural Resources, Recreation, Wildlife
Tags: Featured Creatures, FL Natives, Pest Alert, UF/IFAS Pest Alert

New on Featured Creatures! Hydrellia fly parasitic wasp

by Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman
July 11, 2014

We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Trichopria columbiana (Ashmead) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) is a native endoparasitic wasp (Figure 1). The wasp is ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Farm Management, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Beneficials, Featured Creatures, Pest Alert

New on Featured Creatures! Hydrilla tuber weevil

by Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman
July 10, 2014

We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Bagous affinis Hustache (Figure 1) is a semi-aquatic weevil that feeds on the aquatic invasive plant Hydrilla verticillata ... READ MORE

Category: AGRICULTURE, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Farm Management, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Tags: Beneficials, Featured Creatures, Invasive Species, Pest Alert

New on Featured Creatures! The hydrilla stem weevil.

by Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman
June 8, 2014

We are pleased to announce a new article on Featured Creatures! Take a sneak peek with this excerpt from the article: Bagous hydrillae O’Brien is a semi-aquatic weevil that feeds on the aquatic invasive weed Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) ... READ MORE

Category: Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Farm Management, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Recreation, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Beetles, Featured Creatures, Invasive Species, Pest Alert, UF/IFAS Pest Alert

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