Garden Planting and Transplanting Tips
by Dr. Carolyn Pararas-Carayannis

"The best time to plant or transplant plants in your garden is early spring, when new leaf buds begin to swell on the stems, just prior to the leaves maturing. During this time plants are still semi-dormant and the trauma of moving them is much less. If it is late spring and leaves are mature it is recommended that planting and/or transplanting is deferred until the fall, when the cooler temperatures and shorter time of daylight trigger a decrease in physiological processes read more

The Flying Ant - A Nuptial Flight!
by Dr. Carolyn Pararas-Carayannis

Many people do not believe there are any such things as flying ants - but there are. Except for a few species, all males and sexually mature, ready-to-mate queens have have wings. Let's look at Carpenter ants, for instance. During late winter and early spring swarms of winged queens and winged males (produced during late summer) emerge from mature colony (satellite) nests for their nuptial flights. If nest locations are indoors, swarming individuals are easily identified, often trapped within the structure. The simultaneous mating flight of all winged sexual's produced from colonies within a specific geographic area is called "Nuptial Flight". This "swarming" is triggered by optimal environmental conditions (warm and humid) and read more