IFAS News
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences – University of Florida
New IFAS study shows corn plants help control major mite pest
November 1, 2011
Topic(s): Agriculture, Biocontrols, Crops, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, IFAS, New Technology, Pests, RECs, Research
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Add one more entry to corn’s list of abilities: helping to biologically control pests.
Already a source of food and biofuel, University of Florida researchers report in a new study that corn plants can help sustain populations of small, flying insects known as gall midges in order to control twospotted spider mites.
Spider mites are hard-to-manage, major pests of hundreds of ornamental and vegetable crops.
Mosquito threat emerges as season peaks, UF researchers report
August 30, 2011
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Household Pests, IFAS, Pests, RECs, Safety
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Mosquitoes aren’t just a nuisance, they’re also an economic and health concern, say University of Florida researchers.
July, August, and September are peak months for mosquito activity in Florida, and the state spends about $151 million each year trying to control the biting insects.
Controlling mosquitoes is important for economic development and tourism, said Jonathan Day, a University of Florida medical entomology professor at UF’s Florida Medical Entomology Lab in Vero Beach.
UF nature trail project enables smartphone users to hear insect sounds
August 18, 2011
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, New Technology
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Visitors to University of Florida nature trails can now hear an ancient form of communication — insect songs — using one of the latest communication technologies.
Seven educational stations in UF’s Natural Area Teaching Laboratory now feature signs marked with QR codes, the square, black-and-white patterns that are starting to appear in print advertising. By scanning the signs with a mobile device, visitors can access digital recordings of katydids and crickets native to the area.
UF review suggests new approaches needed if biological control of termites to succeed
July 22, 2011
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Families and Consumers, Household Pests, IFAS, Invasive Species, New Technology, Pests
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It sounds like a pest control technician’s dream come true—eradicating hard-to-reach underground termite colonies by introducing small quantities of a pathogen or parasite, a practice called biological control.
But after 50 years of research, scientists have yet to deliver a successful method. Researchers’ efforts have been hindered by flawed experiments and lack of field testing, according to experts with the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.
Their findings appear in a review article published online this week by the journal Biological Control.
Papaya plants reduce the need for pesticides on tomatoes in Florida, new UF study finds
June 29, 2011
Topic(s): Agriculture, Biocontrols, Crops, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, IFAS, New Technology, Pests, RECs
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Whiteflies can be biologically controlled in Florida greenhouse tomatoes, according to a new University of Florida study, which helps reduce the need for pesticide applications.
Biological control, or biocontrol, is the mitigation of pests using natural means rather than synthetic ones. Florida is the country’s top producer of fresh tomatoes, and sales of the state’s crop for 2009-2010 exceeded $402 million.
Lance Osborne, an entomology professor and associate director of UF’s Mid-Florida Research and Education Center in Apopka, led the study that found that papaya plants can be used to host a wasp that attacks silverleaf whiteflies, an insect that is a major pest of tomatoes. The findings are published in the current issue of the journal Biological Control.
Charles Steinmetz Hall dedication
May 26, 2011
Topic(s): Announcements, Departments, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Families and Consumers, Honors and Appointments, Household Pests, IFAS, Invasive Species, New Technology, Pests
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Charles Steinmetz, a retired pest management company owner, addresses the audience at a ceremony to rename the University of Florida’s entomology and nematology department building, at the UF main campus in Gainesville – Wednesday, May 25, 2011. Steinmetz and his wife, Lynn, recently donated $5 million to the department to support academic and research programs. In recognition of the gift, UF renamed the building Charles Steinmetz Hall. At the ceremony, Steinmetz reminisced about his undergraduate days at UF and some of his career milestones. UF/IFAS photo by Dawn McKinstry
UF: Insecticide resistance developing in psyllid that carries citrus disease
May 9, 2011
Topic(s): Agriculture, Citrus, Crops, Entomology and Nematology, IFAS, Invasive Species, Pests, Uncategorized
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — In Florida’s war against citrus greening, producers face a new threat — the insects they’re fighting are becoming less sensitive to insecticides, according to a new University of Florida study.
“Our investigations to date are showing that insecticide resistance in Asian citrus psyllids is a reality,” said Lukasz Stelinski, an author of the study and an entomologist at UF’s Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred.
“Resistance is showing up,” he said. “But the levels that we have documented to date are not high enough to cause product failures.”
Greening was first detected in Florida in 2005 and is a major threat to Florida’s $9 billion citrus industry. The incurable disease has wiped out citrus crops in other parts of the world.
UF Bee College will spotlight native pollinators March 11-12
March 8, 2011
Topic(s): Agriculture, Conservation, Crops, Economics, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, IFAS
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — With honeybee populations imperiled by the mysterious condition called colony collapse disorder, Florida residents should appreciate native bees for their role in the state’s environment and economy, say University of Florida researchers who will make presentations on the insects at this week’s Bee College.
Held March 11-12 at UF’s Whitney Laboratory in Marineland, the annual event includes sessions on native bees and enhancing habitats for them, said Jamie Ellis, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Now in its fourth year, Bee College is the state’s most extensive bee education event.
Many Florida crops depend on bees for pollination, including some citrus, beans, melons, squash, cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries, and native species perform some of the work. Nationwide, native bees pollinate crops worth an estimated $3 billion each year.
Native bees also pollinate ornamentals and indigenous plants. Now, with honeybee populations down, native pollinators need support from humans.
“There are ways to help by putting in habitat to attract native bees,” Ellis said.
UF study traces global red imported fire ant invasions to southern U.S.
February 25, 2011
Topic(s): Entomology and Nematology, Environment, Families and Consumers, Household Pests, Invasive Species
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Red imported fire ant invasions around the globe in recent years can now be traced to the southern U.S., where the nuisance insect gained a foothold in the 1930s, new University of Florida research has found.
Native to South America, the ant had been contained there and in the southeastern U.S. before turning up in faraway places in the last 20 years — including California, China, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand.
Disease-carrying Asian citrus psyllids find refuge in abandoned groves, UF study shows
February 18, 2011
Topic(s): Agriculture, Citrus, Entomology and Nematology, Environment, IFAS, Invasive Species, Pests
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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — For years, citrus growers have feared that abandoned groves provided refuge for the Asian citrus psyllid, an invasive insect that transmits citrus greening—now, University of Florida researchers say they were right.
A study published in the current issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology shows that the psyllid not only survives in abandoned groves, it often travels to commercially active groves nearby, bringing along the bacterium responsible for the disease.
First detected in Florida in 2005, greening is incurable and fatal to citrus trees. It is considered the biggest threat to the state’s $9 billion citrus industry. Asian citrus psyllids pick up the greening bacterium by feeding on sap from infected trees and later transmit the pathogen while feeding on healthy trees.
The results underscore the need for landowners to remove or destroy unmanaged trees, something the state is urging, said entomologist Lukasz Stelinski, an assistant professor with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and one of the study’s authors.
“There was very much anecdotal evidence that these abandoned areas are harboring citrus psyllids,” Stelinski said. “It’s just one of those things that had to be confirmed.”
