Minteer Biological Control of Weeds Lab

10/01/2026

Join the at the 2027 National Forum on Biological Control in beautiful Asheville!

09/23/2026

Ever wonder what to do when you find an invasive plant in your yard? Check out this blog from our friend, Dr. Sara MacDonald, to find out!

Learn how to remove invasive plants safely, dispose of plant material properly, prevent regrowth, and choose noninvasive replacements for your Florida landscape.

09/22/2026

New Extension publication out of the in collaboration with St. Lucie UF IFAS Extension St. Lucie County Extension agent, Sara MacDonald. Check it out!

University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension outreach is a partnership between state, federal, and county governments to provide scientific knowledge and expertise to the public. The University of Florida (UF), together with Florida A&M University (FAMU), administers....

09/11/2026

Round 2 of the pasture grass susceptibility trials are going into the field today. We are testing 3 cultivars of limpo grass, 2 types of Bahia grass, and 4 types of Bermuda grass for susceptibility to the pasture mealybug.

08/31/2026

Today, Master's student Mackenzie Cummings successfully presented her master's research proposal. Mackenzie will be conducting research on a moth species under study as a potential biological control agent for the invasive earleaf acacia. Good job, Mackenzie!

08/25/2026

Welcome to UF, IRREC, and the Victoria! We are so excited to have you as part of the team!

We are excited to welcome Victoria Ayala as a new graduate assistant at IRREC!

Originally from El Salvador, Victoria earned a bachelor's degree in Environmental Science and Development Engineering from Zamorano in 2022. Most recently, she successfully defended a master's thesis in Entomology at Louisiana State University under the guidance of Dr. Rodrigo Diaz.

Bringing extensive experience in remote sensing and biotechnology, Victoria will join the Minteer Biological Control of W**ds Lab this fall to conduct research focused on the remote sensing of invasive aquatic plants and biological control. Her expertise and passion for innovative environmental research will help advance efforts to better understand and manage invasive species.

Please join us in welcoming Victoria to the IRREC community. We look forward to the contributions and discoveries ahead!

08/12/2026

Another great story about successful biological control of a damaging w**d species.

In 1988, researchers working with the United States Department of Agriculture released a small population of European flea beetles onto infested rangeland near Valley City, North Dakota, hoping the insects might help control a plant that had been quietly overrunning the Northern Great Plains for dec...

07/30/2026

Join the at the North American Invasive Species Associations annual meeting in Alexandria, VA this year!

07/24/2026

We are conducting pasture grass susceptibility trials for the pasture mealybug. Thanks to our friends at the UF IFAS Range Cattle Research and Education Center for helping prioritize species for testing and for bringing down nearly 100 established plants so we could get testing started quickly! Also thanks to the UF/IFAS Indian River Research and Education Center Director, Dr. Mark Kistler, for helping move all those plants to where we needed them!

07/16/2026

This week Dr. Minteer and graduate student, Mackenzie Cummings, attended the Florida Entomological Society meeting in St. Augustine. Mackenzie gave a presentation on the ongoing earleaf acacia biological control project.