Tag: Featured Creatures collection

New and Revised Featured Creatures, September and October 2017

Founded in 1996, Featured Creatures provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms. Their website is a cooperative venture of the University of Florida’s Entomology and Nematology Department and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Plant Industry. EDIS hosts copies of these profiles in fact sheet format. In September and October, the following have been added:

New Featured Creatures: January and February 2017

New Featured Creatures for October 2016

Primary Screwworm Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel) (Insecta: Diptera: Calliphoridae)

Cochliomyia hominivorax

In October of 2016, the United States Department of Agriculture confirmed that the primary screwworm, also called the New World screwworm, has returned to Florida. The fly was found infesting Key deer on Big Pine Key. Key deer are an endangered species found only on the Florida Keys, and unfortunately several have died from the 2016 screwworm infestations, but the screwworm is not only a problem for deer and other wildlife. The pest poses a serious threat to all warm-blooded animals, including livestock, pets, and people, and it cost the US livestock industry billions of dollars before it was finally eradicated decades ago. This four-page fact sheet provides more information about this dangerous pest and how to spot it, as well as what to do and whom to contact if you suspect an infestation in your livestock or pets or in a wild animal. Written by Phillip E. Kaufman, Samantha M. Wisely, and Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman and published by the Entomology and Nematology Department.

If you suspect an infestation of screwworms in an animal, do not move the animal (to prevent spreading the infestation). Call 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352) inside Florida. Non-Florida residents should call (850) 410-3800.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1146

New & Revised Featured Creatures Publications

New Featured Creature publications added

The following publications are now available in EDIS:
Released November 9:

Released November 10:

These publications on EDIS are alternate versions of pages published first on the Featured Creatures website.

Clavate Tortoise Beetle, Plagiometriona clavata (Fabricius)

Figure 1. Adult clavate tortoise beetle, Plagiometriona clavata (Fabricius). Credit: David Cappaert, www.forestryimages.org
Plagiometriona clavata (Fabricius) is common and can be recognized easily by its general form and appearance. Written for Featured Creatures Collection by Robert E. Woodruff. Original publication date December 2006, revised August 2015. (Photo Credit: David Cappaert, www.forestryimages.org)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in710

Tea Shot-Hole Borer Euwallacea fornicates (Eichhoff, 1868) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Figure 1. Adult Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff). A-B female, C-D male.
The tea shot-hole borer is an Asian ambrosia beetle introduced to Florida in the early 2000s. In Florida it does not have any known economic impact, but it is a serious pest of tea around the world and is one of the few ambrosia beetles that can infest healthy plants. The tea shot hole borer has a symbiotic relationships with the ambrosia fungus Fusarium ambrosium (Gadd & Loos), which is also a weak plant pathogen. This 4-page fact sheet includes diagnosis section with guidance for avoiding misidentification. Written by You Li, Andrea Lucky, and Jiri Hulcr, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, June 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1090

A Sand Fly Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz and Neiva) (Insecta: Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae)

Figure 1. Adult (A) female and (B) male Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz and Neiva), a sand fly. Credit: Cristina Ferro, Instituto Nacional de Salud, ColombiaThe true sand flies are densely covered with setae, have long slender legs, and broad and pointed wings that are held erect at rest. Several phlebotomine species are vectors of the protozoan parasites in the genus Leishmania, that are the causal agents of leishmaniasis. Visceral leishmaniais is the most severe form of the disease, and is fatal to the human or dog host if untreated. This 6-page fact sheet was written by Maria C. Carrasquilla and Phillip E. Kaufman, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, June 2015. (Photo credit: Cristina Ferro, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Colombia
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1091

Vespiform Thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford (Insecta: Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae)

Figure 1. Female vespiform thrips showing constricted waist and white band. Credit: Runqian Mao, University of Florida
Franklinothrips vespiformis Crawford is a predatory thrips with a pantropical distribution. The distinctive red, humped-back larvae and fast-moving ant-like adults are predaceous on small arthropods. In addition to being easily mistaken for an ant, this beneficial thrips is unusual in that it constructs a silken cocoon within which it pupates. Males of this species are rare. This species is sold for use as a biological control agent in botanical gardens, zoos, interior landscapes, research greenhouses, nurseries with ornamental plants as well as outdoors in subtropical regions. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Runqian Mao, Yingfang Xiao, and Steven P. Arthurs, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, March 2015. (Photo credit: Runqian Mao, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1083

Black Scale Saissetia oleae (Olivier, 1791) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coccoidea: Coccidae)

Figure 1. Adult female black scales, Saissetia oleae (Olivier) on cultivated olive (Olea europaea L.). Credit: Lyle Buss, University of FloridaThe black scale is an important pest of citrus and olive trees. Originally from South Africa, this scale is now distributed worldwide. In Florida, black scale is found on citrus, cultivated olive, avocado, and many popular landscape plants. It is likely that black scale, like many invasive pests, was imported to the United States on infested nursery plants. Based on their small size and the unique life history of scale insects, these insects are difficult to detect and control. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Morgan A. Byron, Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman, and Sandra A. Allan, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, March 2015. (Photo credit: Lyle Buss, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1082

Black Turpentine Beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans (Olivier) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Figure 1. Dorsal view of an adult black turpentine beetle, Dendroctonus terebrans (Olivier). Its large size, trapezoidal pronotum, and rounded declivity distinguish it from all other bark beetles infesting pines in the southern United States. Credit: Adam Black and Jiri Hulcr, University of FloridaBlack turpentine beetles bore into the inner bark of stressed or injured pines, where they breed and feed on phloem tissue. Adults are strongly attracted to volatile pine odors and readily breed in fresh stumps. In typical forests, infestations do not exhibit the rapid and devastating expansion characteristic of the closely related southern pine beetle, but in stands where stress conditions are frequent or persistent, black turpentine beetle can become a chronic pest and cause significant mortality over an extended period of time. Historically, black turpentine beetle has been a major pest of pines wounded or treated with herbicides in naval stores production. During the 1950s, black turpentine beetle damaged 37 million board feet of timber and contributed to the financial collapse of turpentine farms. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Albert E. Mayfield, John L. Foltz and Jiri Hulcr, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, June 2015. (Photo credit Adam Black and Jiri Hulcr, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in636

An ambrosia beetle Xyleborus affinis Eichhoff, 1868 (Insecta: Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

Figure 1. Adult female Xyleborus affinis. Credit: Jiri Hulcr, UF/IFASXyleborus affinis is one of the most widespread and common ambrosia beetles in the world. It is also very common in Florida. Like other ambrosia beetles, it bores tunnels into the xylem of weakened, cut or injured trees and farms gardens of symbiotic fungus for food. Females lay eggs in the fungus-lined galleries and larvae feed exclusively on the fungi. Recent studies have shown that Xyleborus affinis can vector the fungus responsible for laurel wilt disease, which is lethal to numerous species of trees in the Lauraceae family. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Lanette Sobel, Andrea Lucky, and Jiri Hulcr, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, June 2015. (Photo credit: Juri Hulcr, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1094

Asian Horntail Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura) (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Symphyta: Siricidae: Tremicinae)

Figure 3. Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura). A- antenna. B- metatibial spur. Abdomen (C) and mesonotum (D) with long golden setae (hair-like projections). Credit: You Li, University of Florida
Since it was introduced to North America, the Asian woodwasp has become the most common wood wasp in Florida. It is not considered an economically important pest because it only attacks dying or dead trees, but the species may someday prove to be a pest and its ecological impacts in North American forests remain unknown. This 4-page fact sheet was written by You Li and Jiri Hulcr, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, June 2015. (Photo credit: You Li, UF/IFAS)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1095