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News from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

A closeup image of a yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina), which was discovered in Georgia in August. It is the first time the invasive insect, which is a voracious predator of honey bees, has been found in the United States. CAES News
Yellow-Legged Hornet
The Georgia Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences have confirmed the discovery of a yellow-legged hornet in Georgia for the first time. This is the first detection of live yellow-legged hornets in the open United States.
This female Joro is the first of the species documented in Spalding County. UGA researchers are asking citizen scientists to report Joro sightings at jorowatch.org to track the species' spread throughout Georgia. CAES News
Spider Drift
Since first making an appearance in Georgia in 2014, Joro spiders have steadily expanded their range in Georgia, and now — just in time for Halloween — the spooky-looking species has reached the University of Georgia Research and Education Garden on the UGA Griffin campus.
The Joro Watch team is pursuing a number of approaches to Joro spider research, looking into their impact on native species — like pollinators and native spiders — habitat, lifecycle and management. To help facilitate more conclusive research, UGA experts ask that the public help gather critical data by monitoring spider populations in the environment. (Photo by Carly Mirabile) CAES News
Joro Watch Initiative
They have been described as palm-sized, parachuting creatures with the potential to spread up the East Coast. Now dozens of webs are appearing in trees, on fences and in gardens around the Southeast, and social media and message boards are buzzing with Joro spider sightings. Discussions of eradication methods ranging from chemical sprays to “Joro sticks” are rampant. Joro season is here.
Argentine black and white tegus, the largest of all tegus, can reach 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds or more. CAES News
Georgia First Detectors
The University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health offers a unique opportunity for anyone interested in helping to preserve the state’s native ecology with its Georgia First Detectors Program. The next training for the program will be held at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge on Sept. 30.
The East Asian Joro spider, officially known as Trichonephila clavata, likely arrived in the U.S. on a shipping container around 2013. The species is native to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China. CAES News
Joro Spiders
Joro spiders are polarizing figures. If you live in Georgia, you’ve likely seen the massive-but-harmless spiders hanging between power lines or from the eaves of your house, their golden webs glistening in the sunlight. While some find them a fascinating effect of globalization, others don’t care how they got here. They just want them gone.
Adaptable and hungry, Argentine black and white tegus pose a significant threat to native wildlife, from gopher tortoises to ground-nesting birds. The public should report tegus seen in the wild, alive or dead. (Photo by Dustin Smith/Georgia DNR) CAES News
Report Tegus
Warming temperatures will have tegus on the move in southeast Georgia. Reporting sightings of tegus, alive or dead, is needed to keep the big, South American lizards from gaining a foothold in the state, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Mosquito control is a five-step process that includes education, surveillance, source reduction, larviciding and adulticiding. (Photo by David Cappaert, Bugwood.org) CAES News
Managing Mosquitoes
With summer and the first tropical storm of the season arriving simultaneously this year, we're getting warm, wet weather at a time when more folks are spending time outside. This combination is sure to signal a rise in mosquito interactions, making it a perfect time to think about mosquito control around your home and community.
Argentine black and white tegus, the largest of all tegus, can reach 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds or more. CAES News
Invasive Tegus
University of Georgia Cooperative Extension is assisting the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GDNR) in the effort to find and remove tegus from the wild in southeast Georgia, and the public’s help remains critical to keeping these big, South American lizards from getting a toehold in the state.
Longtime UGA Tifton entomologist Michael Toews will become the assistant dean of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to oversee the Tifton Campus at the end of this month. CAES News
Toews will succeed retiring West
Michael Toews has been named assistant dean of the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to oversee the Tifton Campus.
Michael Toews, entomology professor and co-director of UGA's Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, and his graduate student team of Apurba Barman (foreground), Lauren Perez (background, left) and Sarah Hobby inspect sorghum plants near Tifton for signs of invasive sugarcane aphids. CAES News
Unwelcome Visitors
Earlier this year, Chuck Bargeron learned how to catch a Burmese python.