Free Recorded Webinar- Where have all the honey bees gone? Hope for the future

If you missed the live webinar, then you can watch in your jammies at your leisure.

Go here the green button next to watch recording in the top right side of the screen:
https://learn.extension.org/events/1375#.VGYwOaPFpCw

Why do we have fewer honeybees these days?  What caused the decline?  What can we do to help?  These questions and more will be answered in this webinar presented by Dr. John Skinner, a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Moderated by Sallie Lee, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species and Gardens and Landscapes; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. 

FREE Webinars! Alien Invasions! Zombie! Decapitation! (it is getting close to Halloween.....)

Did you miss the webinar from this month?  It's right in theme with the month of October and even has zombies!

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series

Alien Invasions, Zombies Underfoot and Billions of Decapitated Fire Ants

This webinar was presented by Dr. Sandford Porter, a Research Entomologist in the Imported Fire Ants and Household Insects group of USDA ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology.  It was moderated by Nelson Wynn, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

To watch the recorded webinar, go here and click the watch recording button on the top right.

The next webinar will be held on Friday, November 7, 2014 at 1PM CDT.  The topic is a good one entitled "Where have all the honey bees gone? Hope for the future."

Why do we have fewer honeybees these days?  What caused the decline?  What can we do to help?  These questions and more will be answered in this webinar presented by Dr. John Skinner, a Professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology at the University of Tennessee. Moderated by Sallie Lee, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species and Gardens and Landscapes; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. 

Again, if you want to see the FREE bee webinar, then click here on Friday, November 7th at 1PM CDT.  If you can't make it then, it will be recorded for viewing later.

New media coverage and a (taped) FREE webinar!

Media

In case you quite haven't gotten enough from me lately, I thought I would share media that I have been involved with lately.

I did a story with KXAN on juniper budworm- you can find that clip here.  Some of the information that I spoke about was not covered in the piece, so you can get the full skinny here.

I was also recently inteviewed on Central Texas Gardener where I discuss a variety of things- you can find that video here.  You can find the clip on their YouTube channel (which you should subscribe to if you like gardening).  You can find my previous interview that covered succulent pests here (I miss my purple hair....).

Here is a link to the story on mosquitoes that ran on Fox7Austin.

Here is a link on AgriLife Today on juniper budworms.

FREE webinar

For those of you that missed the webinar on fire ant management last Friday, it is now posted for your viewing pleasure at

https://learn.extension.org/events/1372

We are taking next month off because of conflicts with the 4^th of July.  But All Bugs Good and Bad will be back on August 1, with “Minimize Mosquito Problems” presented by Molly Keck: https://learn.extension.org/events/1373

More about the All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series can be found at: https://learn.extension.org/events/1373

FREE fire ant webinar on Friday (6/6/14)

Free eXtension.org Fire Ant Webinar Friday | June 6, 2014

On June 6 AllBugs Good and Bad Webinar on Fire Ant Management, set for 2 pm EDT. 

The webinar will be presented by Wizzie Brown, an IPM specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and moderated by Mike McQueen.  You will find links below that you can include in Facebook and Twitter posts. If you haven't promoted this month's webinar on social media, please do so! 

 

 

 

 

 

On the day of the webinar, log in at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/fireant as a guest and enter your name. This will allow you to watch the webinar.

 

For a quick way to add this to your calendar, or more information about this webinar, please visit http://learn.extension.org/events/1372 

 

Look for updates on Imported Fire Ant Social media sites that could easily be shared to your facebook and twitter pages. (Facebook:www.facebook.com/fireantinfo ; Twitter: @fireantinfo ; Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/exfireants/fire-ants/)

Fire Ant Webinar- FREE!

Guess who is up next month for the All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series?  That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's me. So if you haven't heard me talk fire ants previously or want a refresher course, log on.

Here's the skinny:

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Fire Ant Management

Learn how to manage your fire ant problem in this webinar by Wizzie Brown (this page has an awful, old picture of me...MUST get it updated soon!), Program Specialist - IPM, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. You don't have to spend a lot of time and money to control fire ants.  A little knowledge about how fire ants live will make you see how easy it is to control them.  Moderated by Mike McQueen, Regional Extension Agent, Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Amanda Tedrow, County Extension Agent, University of Georgia Cooperative Extension. Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event.  For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health and Invasive Species; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.

 

The webinar will be held on Friday, June 6, 2014 at 1PM CDT.  You can login for the webinar here.

Remember, the webinars are FREE and they will be recorded so if you miss it then you can watch it later.

Alfalfa weevils

Alfalfa weevil adults are about 3/16 of an inch in length, brown with a dark brown stripe down the back.  Weevils are a group of beetles that often have a long snout.  Larvae are legless, plump and yellow to green in color with a dark head. Both adults and larvae have chewing mouthparts.

Females lay eggs in the stems of alfalfa where the larvae develop throughout the spring.  Pupation takes place in the soil. There is one generation per year and the adults can survive 10-14 months.

Host plants include alfalfa, vetch and various clover.

So why am I, an urban agent, writing about what seems to be a field crop pest?  Well, these little guys and gals have been emerging from overwintering sites and making their way into homes and other structures.  I spoke with a Master Naturalist in Williamson county who said that someone brought in a bag full that was collected from the inside of a home.

If you are dealing with alfalfa weevils invading your house, work on exclusion techniques.  Some ideas include:

1. reduce outdoor lighting at night or use yellow bug bulbs
2. make sure weather stripping is in good repair around doors & windows
3. make sure screens are in good repair
4. seal any crack & crevices with sealant that will expand with temperature change we get throughout the year
5. seal any pipe/ wire penetrations

If you want, you can do an outdoor treatment with pesticide around the foundation to create a barrier.  Indoor pesticide treatments are unnecessary.  Clean up any weevils found indoors with a dustpan and broom or a vacuum.

On another note....WEBINAR INFORMATION:

If you missed the webinar on ticks from the All Bugs Good and Bad series, you can find the recording here:
https://learn.extension.org/events/1381

Next month, on the first Friday....May 2nd there will be a new webinar.  This webinar will be titled "Are Those Itsy Bitsy Spiders Good or Bad?"  The 45 minute webinar will be presented at 1PM CDT and given by Dr. Nancy Hinkle and moderated by Charles Pinkston.  The webinar will highlight good qualities of spiders and their usefulness.

FREE Webinar Friday, April 4, 2014 1PM CDT: Get TickSmart: 10 Things to Know, 5 Things to Do

All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series: Get TickSmart: 10 Things to Know, 5 Things to Do

With more ticks in more places than ever before, there's never been a more appropriate time to raise your tick literacy.  Tick encounter rates aren't creeping up... they're soaring.  Just one species, the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis), transmits Lyme disease and at least 4 additional dangerous infections across a wide swath of the United States.  This tick is not your "regular" tick, although it may be the most common. 

To stay TickSafe and disease-free, there are 10 things you must know about ticks these days.  Once you know about those things, there are 5 top TickSmart actions you can and should take.  No more "hmmms," "uhhhhs," or "I'm not sure."  The Get TickSmart campaign hopes to fast-track your access to knowledge and resources that empower you to be proactive and protected. 

This webinar will be presented by Dr. Thomas N. Mather, Professor & Director, Center for Vector-Borne Disease and TickEncounter Resource Center, University of Rhode Island and moderated by Shawn Banks, Extension Agent Agriculture-Horticulture, NC State University Cooperative Extension. 

Click here to login as a guest and participate in the live event. 

For more webinars in this series, see All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series. The webinars are brought to you by the following eXtension Communities of Practice: Imported Fire Ants, Urban IPM, Bee Health, and Invasive Species; and by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. 

To recap....

What: FREE Webinar on Ticks
When: Friday, April 4, 2014 at 1PM CDT
Where: here

This webinar will be taped, so if you have pressing commitments you can watch later.  If you participate in the live session, you will be able to ask questions.

The Webinar from last month "Straight Talk about Termites" can still be watched....just click HERE!

March 7, 2014 Webinar: Staright Talk About Termites

I know, I know...it's not Friday when I usually post, but I wanted to give you the heads up before tomorrow.  The next webinar in the All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar Series is TOMORROW, March 7th!  The webinar will begin at 2 PM Eastern (1 PM Central).

The Seminar is titled "Straight Talk About Termites" and will be about 45 minutes long.  It is presented by Dr. XingPing Hu and moderated by Mallory Kelley. You will learn how termites live and what you need to know to prevent them from recycling your things.

For more information on the seminar click here (this will take you to a page with the link to click to login to the webinar).

For information on the entire All bugs good and bad webinar series for 2014, click here.

I hope that you can join us for the webinar.  Remember, the webinars are FREE and will be recorded, so if you happen to have a scheduling conflict, you can watch it later.

All Bugs Good & Bad Webinar Series- begins Febraury 7, 2014!

The eXtension All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is set to begin February 7, 2014. Dr. Kathy Flanders, an entomologist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, says the series is a continuation of the Don’t Bug Me Webinar series with an emphasis on good and bad insects that affect people every day.

“This webinar series will feature insects that affect homeowners and gardeners,” says Flanders. “These insects fall into two categories and we hope to provide information that is beneficial when treating your gardens or crops and pest-proofing your home, yard, family and pets.”

Webinars will be held the first Friday of each month at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The first webinar in the 2014 series will highlight pollinators, which are good bugs.  "If flowers are restaurants to bees, then what are bees to flowers?"  will be Friday, February 7th at 2 p.m.

Dani Carroll, a region Extension home grounds agent, will be moderating the February 7th webinar. She says it is imperative to know the importance of the role pollinators play in the world around us.

“Bees and other pollinators are essential in production of more than two-thirds of the world’s food crop species,” Carroll says. “The necessity extends beyond things we grow in our back yard, like squash and apples. Alfalfa is instrumental in the meat and dairy industries and its growth depends on pollination.”

Upcoming webinar topics include pollinators, termites, ticks, spiders and fire ants.

Flanders says The All Bugs Good and Bad Webinar series is designed to provide useful tips for those interested in solid, research-based information.

More information can be found at All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series  including how to connect to the webinars.  On Feb. 7, participants can use this link to connect to the webinar. Webinars will be archived and can be found on the All Bugs Good and Bad 2014 Webinar Series page.

All Bugs Good and Bad webinars are an extension of the seven webinars in The Don’t Bug Me Webinar Series, which spanned most of 2013, and included five webinars discussing fire ants, tramp ants, bed bugs and insects that invade homes.  Links to view these archived webinars can be found here.

The webinars are sponsored by eXtension, and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.  They are coordinated by the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Community of Practice, Urban IPM, Bee Health, Invasive Species, Gardens, Lawns and Landscapes, and Disasters.