PitchTube
Explore bark and ambrosia beetles, and connect with the UF Forest Entomology Lab.
Welcome
Who looks like a cute and fuzzy teddy bear but is less then 1mm long? Who was the first farmer on Earth, over sixty million years ago, growing nutritious fungi? And who will determine whether climate change is buffered by trees, or whether forests die and turn into a carbon source? Welcome to the diverse and bizarre world of bark and ambrosia beetles!
PitchTube is the website of the University of Florida Forest Entomology (UFFE) lab, a destination for those who love, fear, or are curious about this amazing biological system of beetles, fungi, and trees. And for those who don’t know yet, the real pitch tube is a defensive blob of resin exuded by a pine attacked by a bark beetle.
We used to have a website that summarized the ecology and evolution of ambrosia beetles. The old site is still up, but many things changed. The global community of bark and ambrosia beetle researchers, students and fans has expanded. Our own team now includes specialists on databases, artificial intelligence, molecular biosystematics, filmmaking, management, invasive species, and so on. These new developments made us change our lab page from a static narrative to a stream of updates. So enjoy the stories and the resources, and keep in touch. The UFFE lab welcomes diversity of views, origins, and identities.
Featured Updates
