August First Friday with Florida First Detector

Recap of August First Friday with Florida First Detector

In August, we talked about invasive pests on citrus. Historically, the citrus industry has been super important in Florida and continued to be today. Despite challenges in citrus production in recent years, Florida is still a top producer of citrus. The Florida citrus industry was valued at $6.9 billion (in 2021) and it supports an estimated 32,500 jobs in the state. Over the years, introduction of invasive pests has impacted the citrus industry. Some examples of introduced problems include the Asian citrus psyllid, citrus greening, snout scale, and Caribbean fruit fly.

Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening are two invasive species with some of the largest impacts on Florida’s citrus industry. Asian citrus psyllid is a vector of citrus greening that established in Florida prior to the arrival of citrus greening. With the vector well established in the state, citrus greening quickly spread throughout Florida citrus. This led to severe crop losses, decline in citrus acreage and associated jobs, increased cost of production and more. Currently, there is extensive ongoing research to improve the management of citrus greening in Florida citrus.

We covered a few pests that have not yet established in Florida that could impact the citrus industry if introduced. In August’s webinar, we covered identification of lime swallowtail, citrus longhorned beetle, Mediterranean fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, and Mexican fruit fly. If suspected in Florida, submit samples for confirmation. You can start with contacting your local county extension office for help. An important note, most of these species discussed are not currently found in Florida. Florida has a long history with several invasive fruit flies. While some invasive fruit fly species have been detected in Florida in the past, they are not currently present (excluding the Caribbean fruit fly). Lime swallowtail was recently found in Key West in 2022, but to date, has not been found elsewhere in Florida.

Resources on Invasive Caterpillars and More

Want to watch the recording?

What is the upcoming schedule?

We are meeting online via Zoom from 12:00PM-1:00PM on the First Friday of every month from Sept 2022-Aug 2024. Please visit this blog for registration information and the upcoming schedule for Sept 2023-2024.

Questions?

Contact Dr. Morgan Pinkerton, morgan0402@ufl.edu

Visit the Florida First Detector Website