UF/IFAS Okeechobee County Extension Service

458 Highway 98 North

Okeechobee, FL 34972-2578

Phone: (863) 763-6469

E- mail:  dfculbert@ifas.ufl.edu

May 11, 2006

Feature Article - for release the week of May 14, 2006

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent

Family Fun at the BioControl Brain Bowl and Bash

During the past few weeks, Extension staff around the Treasure Coast has been working with local teens, getting them ready for a fun-filled event scheduled for this coming Saturday.  Our second annual BioControl Brain Bowl and Bash will be held at in Fort Pierce the UF/IFAS Indian River Research & Education Center on May 20th, and Okeechobee’s team is ready to bring home the trophy.

 

With apologies to David Letterman, here’s today’s column lists our top ten fun things to do at the Buggy Bash, to be held from 1- 3 PM at the research center:

1. Suck bugs to kill Melaleuca trees – one illegal alien in South Florida has taken over the Everglades and is spreading all around Lake Okeechobee.  UF scientists have found that a couple of multi-legged immigrants will chew up this invasive tree.  Collecting these critters in our mini-Melapaluza involves the use of a “bug-sucker” a.k.a. an aspirator, which you can use to collect your own weevils to take home.

 

 

2. Decorate a Mr.  & Mrs. Air-Potato Head – for over 50 years kids have been poking holes and decorating potatoes with all kinds of eyes, ears, noses and other decorations.  Here in Florida, we have lots of our own spuds that are useless for anything else but decorating.  Air Potatoes are a real nuisance in Florida Yards and Neighborhoods.   So come out and learn how scientists are developing ways to eliminate them, and have some fun with this noxious weed.

 

3. Race Dr. Phil’s Thoroughbred Palmetto bugs – UF’s Eminent Entomologist Phil Koehler will lead several races in the Great American Cockroach Race.  Participants will decorate their steeds with racing stripes.  The public can then watch them “run for the roses” as soon as the bugler calls these steeds at Post-time to the starting line. 

 

 

4. Sniff termites with the BugMaster’s dogs – we all know that dogs are used to track down missing persons and illegal drugs, but did you know that some pest control companies are now using the sense of smell to detect wood-chomping termites in homes and buildings?  A Brain Bowl sponsor from Vero will be demonstrating at the event how these destructive pests can be detected by specially trained dogs.

 

5. Get up close and personal with: Maggots – UF Entomologist Kimberly M. Ferrero will explain the wonderful world of forensic entomology with real samples of fly larva.  She will convince you how they are very important in ridding the world of unwanted creatures.

 

 

6. Crayon your face- a few of our artistic Brain Bowlers will provide beautifully personalized face art for kids wishing to look a bit buggy at the event.  As with all our activities, there will be no charge for this activity.   

7. Draw a picture and win cash – a special art contest table will be available for kids to create their own buggy artwork, and for those that wish to stick around, they can enter it in our art contest.   Judges will be on hand to select the winner in elementary, middle and high school categories,  and Bug Master will provide a $50 cash award to each age group for the one the judges like the best.

8. Get paid to Hunt for Bugs – capture insects at our display garden, learn how to preserve and mount them in a display box, and have your collection judged.  Another $50 cash award will be provided by Bug Master for the best box.

9. Team up for our Caterpillar Canter – get a group of your friends together, dress up like a caterpillar and win this relay race.  The winning larval team earns a Brain Bowl T-shirt for each set of legs and pro-legs.  (Extra Brain-Bowl t-shirts will also be on sale for slow speed caterpillars.)

 

10. Learn how to kill an Alligator, infect a Mosquito and destroy Evil Weevils – Okeechobee Brain Bowl team members have been carefully watching how well a flea beetle works to chew up alligatorweed, an aquatic plant that clogs up area canals and ponds. The Indian River team has been comparing how well an infectious disease agent (Bacillus thuringiensis) and a hungry protozoan (copepod) work when they are put to work killing mosquito larva.  The St. Lucie Brain-bowlers are measuring the damage that Evil Mexican Bromeliad weevils do to native air plants.  At 3:30 PM the teams will make presentations on these experiments conducted recently at the UF Biological Control Research and Containment Lab.

And, remember to come cheer our Okeechobee team on to victory.  From 3:30 to 5 PM, spectators will be amazed how much knowledge our Brain Bowl teams have learned as they crawl on to victory in this year’s quiz bowl event.  Students from Okeechobee and St.Lucie County will be trying hard to unseat the reining champion Brain Bowl team from Indian River in this question and answer contest.  

 

 

The public can also meet UF scientists who are working at our new BioControl Containment Facility.   If you missed the interview with Billy Dean on this Monday’s WOKC radio, you can get directions or more information from our office or from the Brain Bowl program coordinator, Ms. Queen Cockroach herself, a.k.a. Robin Koestoyo, at (772) 468-3922, Ext. 103.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on the BioControl Brain Bowl and Bash , please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.   Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 5 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  

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Trade names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean Last update: 05/15/2006 .  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert  

 

References

Please visit our event website for Lots more on this program: http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu/BioControl.BrainBowl.2006.htm