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The Queensland Umbrella Tree is named for the state of Queensland in Australia, where it is native, but it has been spread to warmer areas around the world through the horticulture trade for the beauty of its evergreen foliage and unique umbels of flowers and fruit. Unfortunately it is also an invasive exotic that has spread out of control wherever it has been introduced. Even its home country – Australia – considers the Queensland Umbrella Tree an invasive exotic. Queensland Umbrella Tree fruit is abundant and easily available to the diversity of birds and other animals that feed on it. In Florida Northern Mockingbirds often defend the fruit supply, but other birds manage to partake of it. Eastern Bluebirds, Red-bellied and Pileated woodpeckers, and many other species take advantage of it. After feasting, the seeds pass through a bird’s digestive tract and are deposited with a bit of fertilizer – facilitating growth of new trees elsewhere.

Milkweeds are diverse and widespread. They are also well known because of putative medicinal properties and now, especially because of their association with Monarch Butterflies. Monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed and their caterpillars feed on milkweeds – consuming toxic chemicals, which they store in their body, making both the caterpillars and the adult butterflies toxic and noxious to would be predators. What is less well known is that Monarch butterfly populations are declining rapidly. Why? Excessive use of herbicides that kill milkweeds along with other plants, clearing of land for human uses, pesticides that kill insects, and climate change are all likely involved. Florida is home to at least 24 species of milkweeds and also to a sizeable, but perhaps shrinking, monarch butterfly population – a population that includes migrant monarchs that pass through Florida from more northern breeding areas to wintering areas in Mexico and other areas south of us. There is much we don’t know, but scientists are concerned and investigating the potential links.

The Knight Anole is a newcomer to Florida – first found here in the 1950s near Miami, and now found almost anywhere in the state. It is a native of Cuba that has also been spread to other islands of the Caribbean and to California – in part as a result of stowaways hiding in plants and among crates being shipped taken from Cuba and Florida, and in part through the pet trade. The Knight Anole is a handsome lizard – and a very large one – sometimes reaching 17 inches from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail. It is also an omnivore – eating almost anything, including other lizards, baby birds, mice, fruit, and more. It has been known from southwest Florida for several years and its numbers are growing. Watch for this green invader with white stripes on its face and side. Between April and August it can often be seen clinging head down on a tree trunk – waiting patiently for potential mates or the arrival of competitors. The rest of the year it is typically in the canopy of trees or palms feeding on whatever it can find among dense foliage.

Missouri has the lowest cigarette tax in the country and health advocates cite that when pointing to the state's high smoking rates and minimal resources to help people quit. A ballot measure in the state proposes changing that, directing the tax revenue to schools and tobacco prevention programs.

The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a tiny bird with a very short tail and a very squeaky voice. Indeed, its voice sounds like that of a “rubber ducky”. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is one of three nuthatch species found in Florida, but the only one regularly found in south Florida. The Brown-headed Nuthatch is a bird of pines and is found in pinelands of Florida and the Southeast. It is a bird that feeds on insects and spiders that it finds in bark crevices and among the needles of pines. It eats pine seeds retrieved from open cones. Nuthatches fill a niche somewhat similar to that of a woodpecker – except that they not only move up a tree surface, but also down – head-first – thus they readily finds insects and spiders from above as well as from below or from the side – approaches that woodpeckers usually take. Like woodpeckers, nuthatches are cavity nesters. They readily excavate their own nest in well-rotted wood, use a natural cavity, or make use of an abandoned woodpecker cavity. Brown-headed Nuthatches are social birds and constantly chatter – squeaking – as they hunt for food.

Halloween is a holiday that brings to mind creatures of the night such as bats and many spiders. These nocturnal creatures are ones we have some unease about because we rarely see them, encounter them by surprise in the dark, and often have little understanding of their role in nature. We often misinterpret their behavior and they sometimes leave us with a sense of fear of what they might do to us. Yes, tropical American vampire bats drink blood and in doing so can transmit disease to its victims. North American and most other bats are insect eaters that provide an important service in consuming mosquitos that can transmit diseases to the animals they bite. Most bats also consume large numbers of moths and other insects that feed on plants that our livestock or we depend on.

Common Gallinules are resident birds found in ponds and marshes across Florida – especially where tall reeds, rushes, or cattails line the edges in shallow water. More northern populations are migratory. Adult Common Gallinules are somewhat chicken-like in appearance, but have blue-gray feathers, a bit of brown on the back, and white feathers that form a horizontal line along each side. Adults have a yellow-tipped bright red bill that extends to form a shield over its forehead. Young chicks are covered with black down – except for the top of the head which is nearly bald. Their tiny wings are bare, looking like pink toothpicks sticking out from their side. Downy chicks also have a red bill with a yellow tip – but no shield over the forehead. As the chicks grow and change plumage, they become dull gray birds with a dull, somewhat mottled yellow-brown bill. Older chicks stay with the pair and help feed the younger chick – a behavior known as “aunting”. As the bill of an older chick takes on the bright red color of an adult, the male chases it away.

West Nile Virus has now been detected in mosquitoes in both Lee & Collier Counties. Mosquitoes become infected with the virus when they feed on birds that have it, and it can be spread to humans through the bite of an infected mosquito. Both Lee and Collier Counties have robust mosquito control operations to protect human health, and human standard of living. And they have extensive monitoring operations to try and stay ahead of the flying pests, and track the presence of viruses like West Nile, Dengue, Eastern Equine Encephalitis, Chikungunya, and Zika.

Ever since the mid-90s there has a been a place in downtown Fort Myers where parents could bring their kids for an immersive experience focused on science. It was originally called The Imaginarium Hands on Museum and Aquarium and featured hands-on displays and activities and an always-popular touch tank where kids can pet and feed cownose rays, among many other exhibits and activities that have evolved over time. The Imaginarium merged with the Southwest Florida History Museum and re-launched as an independent nonprofit called the IMAG History and Science Center which still offers the public an immersive experience focused now on science AND history. This Saturday, they are celebrating their 30th anniversary so we get some history, and a look at what’s happening there today.

Manatees vocalize while feeding, resting, or playing using high-pitched squeaks, squeals, squeak-squeals, and chirps. Learn about innovative research being conducted at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota exploring how and why manatees vocalize.