Miami International Airport Tour Photos

Commissioner Adam Putnam looking over seized agricultural products during a tour of the Miami International Airport Customs and Border Protection agricultural inspection operation.

 

Commissioner Adam Putnam and Divsion of Plant Industry Director Richard Gaskalla tour the cargo area of the Miami International Airport.

An Officer and a Gentleman

Linus takes a break with his human handler during the busy commercial shoot.

With a face like that, how could anyone not want to help Linus protect our nation’s environment and food supply? The country’s most adorable federal officer wants you to know that harmful pests and diseases enter the United States throughout airports and ports of entry, often unintentionally by travelers. When you travel, don’t pack a pest. Help keep Florida safe!

For more information, visit our website or call 888-397-1517.

That itsy bitsy spider could be a venomous species.

(Latrodectus bishopi, the red widow)

“The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out,
out came the sun and dried up all the rain and the itsy bitsy spider went up the spout again.”
(The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Western nursery rhyme)

Florida is home to a plethora of spider species, as the state’s subtropical climate contributes to its biodiversity. Spiders are often discovered residing in homes, offices, barns and other places where they could come in contact with humans. Many spiders are beneficial to the environment and not harmful to humans. However, some species of spiders are venomous, and serious health problems could result from their bite. Two main types of venomous spiders occur in Florida: widow spiders and recluse spiders. Although some species of widow spiders are native to Florida, nonnative species of widow spiders and recluse spiders have been introduced into the state.

Check out this pest alert on venomous spiders in Florida from DPI’s resident spider expert Dr. G. B. Edwards. This pest alert is helpful in identifying widow and recluse spiders and their bite symptoms. Dr. Edwards recently received an e-mail from a Florida man who had been bitten by a widow spider and was able to avoid severe symptoms from the spider bite because he had read the venomous spiders pest alert. Dr. Edwards also recently assisted a car dealership manager in the Florida panhandle who called for information on how to eradicate an infestation of brown widow spiders at the dealership. Dr. Edwards’ success in assisting and educating the public is a prime example of the purpose of the division, and the dedication of DPI staff to serving Florida consumers and protecting Florida’s environment—even from itsy bitsy spiders.

For more information, see Dr. Edwards’ venomous spiders pest alert, or view these related links:
Spiders and Other Arachnids
Spiders on the Web
Black Widow Spiders
Recluse Spiders
Myths of the Brown Recluse
UF Pest Alerts

Dr. Edwards can be contacted at GB.Edwards@freshfromflorida.com, or 352-372-3505 ext. 194.

Have questions or comments? Call our toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517.

Little beetle, big problem.

Almost every month, a new exotic insect, plant or plant pathogen is detected in Florida. Some of these exotic invaders turn out to be serious agricultural pests, like laurel wilt disease and the redbay ambrosia beetle.

Pests and diseases like laurel wilt and the redbay ambrosia beetle are often spread throughout the state unknowingly by travelers. For example, the redbay ambrosia beetle can be harbored in firewood, and transporting firewood increases the spread of the beetle and laurel wilt disease.

Laurel wilt is a destructive disease of redbay, avocado and other trees in the laurel family (Lauraceae). The disease is caused by a fungus (Raffaelea lauricola) that infects the sapwood of host trees, restricting the flow of water, causing the leaves to wilt and the trees to die. The fungus is carried into trees by the non-native redbay ambrosia beetle (Xyleborus glabratus), which was first detected in the U.S. near Savannah, Georgia, in 2002 and subsequently found in Duval County, Florida, in 2005. Laurel wilt has caused high levels of mortality in redbay trees in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and has affected several other hosts including sassafras and avocado.

Florida’s avocado industry represents a farm gate production value of $13 million with over 6,773 production acres located in Miami-Dade County with some acreage in Collier County, according to Florida Agriculture Statistics. The spread of the tiny redbay ambrosia beetle could result in the elimination of avocado production in Florida.

The Division of Plant Industry’s Save the Guac campaign was established to educate the public about the potential devastating effects laurel wilt and the redbay ambrosia beetle could have on Florida avocado production. According to the report, Estimates of the Replacement Costs of Commercial and Backyard Avocado Trees in South Florida authored by Edward A. Evans and Jonathan H. Crane, the cost to replace commercial and backyard avocados, if the redbay-laurel wilt disease complex became established, would be $423 million. DPI established a firewood and unprocessed wood product regulation in August to protect our trees, natural environments, forest and wood material industries and, of course, avocados.

You can help stop the spread of exotic invasive species like the redbay ambrosia beetle and help Save the Guac by not transporting firewood or unprocessed wood products.

Have questions? Call DPI’s toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517 or e-mail us at dpi-blog@doacs.state.fl.us.

What’s in a name? Peach fruit fly find impacts much more than peaches.

“What’s in a name, That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet?”
                -Juliet, Romeo and Juliet (II, ii, 1-2)

In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Juliet tries to convey the idea that a name does not necessarily provide an accurate meaning. With the discovery of a peach fruit fly in Miami-Dade County earlier this month, some Floridians might be wondering what could be causing the concern over the fly. Florida might not be as well known for peach production as its neighbor to the north, Georgia, but the peach fruit fly poses a serious risk to Florida’s environment and agriculture industry. Don’t let the name fool you. The peach fruit fly has an appetite for more than just peaches.

Peach Fruit Fly

A peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata, was found in a trap in a guava tree in Miami-Dade County by a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector during routine surveillance activities earlier this month, marking the first Florida find for this particular species of fruit fly. The peach fruit fly is considered one of world’s most serious fruit fly pests due to its potential economic harm. It attacks many different fruits, vegetables and nuts, including mango, guava, citrus, eggplant, tomato, apple, peach, melon, loquat, almond and fig. The fruit flies lay their eggs in the fruits and vegetables, and in a few days, the eggs hatch and maggots render the fruits or vegetables inedible.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, along with its federal counterpart, has launched an intensified trapping program in an 79-square-mile area surrounding the fruit fly find. If more flies are found, trapping will continue, and an insecticide may be applied to telephone poles along with a substance that attracts the flies. The public will be notified 24 hours prior to the application of any insecticides or other treatment activities, and if necessary, additional outreach activities will be conducted to provide all relevant information.

Agricultural officials are attempting to determine the source of the fruit that carried this fly into Florida. If you have any information on the possible origin of this fly, please report it to the USDA’s anti-smuggling hotline at 1-800-877-3835.

The peach fruit fly marks the third exotic fruit fly find in Florida this year. In June, Mediterranean fruit flies were trapped in Palm Beach County, and a full-scale, three-month eradication program was conducted—one of the shortest in U.S. history. In August, two Oriental fruit flies were found in a trap in Pinellas County, where trapping continues and no additional flies have been found. This year alone, about $7 million has been spent on the Palm Beach and Pinellas county programs. However, $7 million is a much lower figure than would be associated with the potential economic harm caused by untreated fruit fly infestations.

“What these multiple incursions of exotic fruit flies into Florida are telling us is that even with our successful statewide fruit fly detection and monitoring efforts and preventative sterile fly release program, harmful pests and diseases are still being brought into the state by the traveling public,” said Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson. “We must continue to raise public awareness about the risks associated with moved agricultural products without proper certification. We’re asking the public to refrain from bringing any plant material in from another country to reduce the incidence of invasive pests.”

State and federal agencies will work with local governments to keep the public involved and to provide updated information. More information can be found on the department’s website, including maps of the detection area and detailed information on the peach fruit fly.

How can you help keep the story of Florida agriculture from becoming a tragedy like Romeo and Juliet? When you travel, don’t pack a pest!

Need more info? Call our toll-free helpline at 888-397-1517 or e-mail us at dpi-blog@doacs.state.fl.us.