originally posted: September 25, 2002 | by chelsie

Worldwide, there are three hundred species of bumblebees (genus: Bombus), fifty are native to North America. In many areas, bumblebees are the only bees. Cool climates due to latitude or altitude preclude hairless bees that cannot maintain body warmth. Lost of habitat, pesticide use, and Varroa mites threaten the populations of these vital pollinators. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 18, 2002 | by chelsie

There are thirteen rattleboxes (Crotalaria species Linnaeus) in Florida; four are native and nine are introduced. The common name comes from the loose seeds in the dried pods. The exotic species are generally found in disturbed habitats (cattle pastures and old fields) where they pose a threat when forage is low. Crotalaria contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, primarily monocrotaline and usaramine. The toxins cause liver, lung, and cardiovascular damage, but are so distasteful that grazing animals usually avoid the plants. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 11, 2002 | by chelsie

The Brazilian rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis (Willdenow ex A. Jussieu) Müller Aargau) is a member of the Euphorbiaceae, the same family as the familiar poinsettia. The trees are native to tropical South America and now grown in the Old World tropics. Twice a year, the trees "winter" or go through brief resting periods following the solstices. Immediately after the resting phases, Brazilian rubber trees put on new growth and flower. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 4, 2002 | by chelsie

The wild type fig is called the goat or caprifig and is the same species as the domesticated fig (Ficus carica Linnaeus). It is the centuries of selecting trees with the best fruit that have created numerous varieties. Only about 20 varieties are regularly cultivated for the market. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 28, 2002 | by chelsie

Dogfennel (Eupatorium capillifolium (Lamarck) Small) is a member of the Asteraceae or aster family and native to the southern U.S. These rangy plants heavily colonize disturbed habitats, but are infrequent where habitats are natural or stable. Dogfennel is almost never eaten by herbivores with the exception of a few insects. The plants produce pyrrolizidine alkaloids which make them distasteful and toxic. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 21, 2002 | by chelsie

The tobacco hornworm or hawkmoth (Manduca sexta Linnaeus) is a member of the Sphingidae or sphinx moth family. These night-flying moths are frequently mistaken for hummingbirds; they generally hover while feeding at fragrant night-blooming flowers. But they have been observed landing in the floral tube of large flowers like angel's trumpet. Angel's trumpet nectar is toxic and the hawkmoth appears to 'enjoy' the brew. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 14, 2002 | by chelsie

The bladderworts (Utricularia spp.) are a ubiquitous lot; there are an estimated 200 species of these carnivorous plants worldwide. The plants are seldom noticed except when in bloom then they may cover a shallow pond or muddy flat with white, yellow, or purple blooms. Bladderworts are best known for their tiny modified leaves which suck in unsuspecting prey. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 7, 2002 | by chelsie

The eastern lubber (Romalea microptera Beauvois) is an unmistakable grasshopper. The males can grow to 5.5 centimeters (2 inches); the females to 7.0 cm (2 ¾ inches). The nymph stage is black with a yellow or red stripe down its back. In northern Florida, the adults remain dark with yellow markings; in southern Florida, the adults are golden tan with a red stripe down each forewing. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 31, 2002 | by chelsie

Digger wasps (Sphecidae) are solitary creatures. Females dig a burrow in which they lay an egg and place a live but paralyzed dinner. The larval wasp will feed on the caterpillar, spider, or other insect 'mom' left for it. If 'mom' mated, she will lay a diploid egg and a female will hatch. No mating, the egg will be haploid and the wasp a male. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 24, 2002 | by chelsie

When the Spanish arrived at the homeland of the Aztec, they were amazed at the quality and colors of the textiles. Europe had red dyes--madder root, lichen, and the kermes insect from oaks--but nothing as intensely colored as the scarlet of the Aztec. The Aztec called their dye, nocheztli, for it lived on the divine cactus, teo-nochtli (Nopalea cochenillifera (L.) Salm-Dyck). [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 17, 2002 | by chelsie

In the 1950s, storms damaged the kelp (Order: Laminariales) forests along the southern coast of California. Normally, the kelp forests recover within a few years. This time the kelp did not recover. The sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus spp.) were feeding on raw sewage dumped into the waters; their population exploded and the spiny animals ate the coastal waters into barrens. This episode demonstrated the sea urchins had a major impact on determining coastal habitats. Sea urchins were classified as pests. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 10, 2002 | by chelsie

Native to Central America, the chicozapote (Manilkara zapota (L.) van Royen) is one of the dominant species found where once the Maya civilization flourished--the rainforests of southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 3, 2002 | by chelsie

The many-plume moths (Alucitidae) are possibly the strangest of the "children of the night". Apparently, little is known of these moths, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Butterflies and Moths (V.J. Staněk, 1977) states an estimated 100 species "...mostly small and drably coloured, but each one of their wings is divided into six or more fine, feather-like structures, so it can be said, that instead of wings they have twenty-four 'feathers'." [Click here to read more...]