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

Fall Garden Ideas - Checklist For Fall Gardening
By Steve Boulden; edited 2009 by Carolyn Pararas-Carayannis.

As Rudyard Kipling once said, "Gardens are not made by sitting in the shade". A lot of gardeners see the season of fall as a time to start putting their gardens to rest. However, autumn is the perfect time for assessing, designing and improving your gardens. Consider your landscaping. It is a great time to perform grounds and tool maintenance. Do a soil test, sharpen your garden tools, clean you lawnmower for storage, improve the soil and mulch the garden bed for next season. Those little efforts now will help you garden thrive come springtime. What other autumn gardening tips are there? Well, there are many read more