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As January transitions to February, few of us are thinking about mosquitoes and the multitude of problems they can cause when spring arrives. But with January rain totals well above normal across the Southeast, it is a good time to take inventory of where standing water is holding and what can be done to eliminate it.

Cooler weather may be upon us, but as we open windows and head outside, it is important to remember that we are still in mosquito season. Recent rains have filled all of the containers, cracks and crevices that can hold water around our homes and neighborhoods. While working around my yard, I have found mosquito larvae in the bird bath, a garbage can lid and in the rim of a recycling container.

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.

Jena Johnson, a lab manager in the Department of Entomology in UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, captures what she observes working with mosquitoes and other insects in the lab of entomology professor Michael Strand. She finds scientific and artistic meaning in her photos, which offer a glimpse at both intriguing behavioral phenomena and unexpected natural beauty.

Recently, a church trustee in Bartow County brought samples of “holey” mail to the local University of Georgia Cooperative Extension office for closer examination. Strangely, mail deposited in the church’s mailbox was showing up with holes chewed through the outer layer of the envelopes, but the mail inside was intact — a small miracle in itself.

It has been 17 years since a set of billions of periodical cicadas emerged from their underground chambers and filled the air with boisterous buzzing and desperate mating calls.

A unique study conducted by University of Georgia entomologists led to the discovery of a distinctive supergene in fire ant colonies that determines whether young queen ants will leave their birth colony to start their own new colony or if they will join one with multiple queens. Researchers also found that ants were more aggressive toward queens who don’t possess the supergene, causing colony workers to kill them. This critical finding opens the door to new pest control methods that may be more efficient in eradicating problematic fire ant colonies. 

Following the onset of several major outbreaks of foodborne pathogens traced back to wildlife, buyers of farm-fresh produce began encouraging the removal of natural habitats and nesting areas on farms to discourage wildlife intrusion.

Chipmunks may look cute, but when they wreak havoc in the landscape their charm quickly fades. A species of small rodent, chipmunks are quite common in Georgia. They are considered minor agricultural pests, but they can cause significant structural damage under patios, stairs and retention walls.

Game feeders are often used to provide high-protein supplemental feeds to increase the body condition, antler size and overall survival rates within deer herds. Every year, thousands of tons of feed are distributed for whitetails, but a portion of that feed is consumed by wild pigs that readily displace native wildlife species.