Tuesday, December 11, 2007
D0390

Imported fire ant extension: A new way of connecting experts to provide unbiased information for the client

Kathy Flanders, flandkl@auburn.edu, Auburn University, Dept. of Entomology & Plant Pathology, 208A Extension Hall, Auburn, AL, Bastiaan Drees, b-drees@tamu.edu, Texas A&M University, Dept. of Entomology, 412 Heep Center, 2475 TAMU, College Station, TX, Patricia Beckley, Louisiana State University AgCenter, 404 Life Sciences Building, Baton Rouge, LA, and Paul Nester, Texas Cooperative Extension, 3033 Bear Creek Drive, Houston, TX.

The nationwide web-based site on imported fire ant management, www.extension.org/fire+ants, was launched in April 2007. The collaborative effort to develop this site begain in late 2005, when the Imported Fire Ant eXtension Community of Practice was formed. This effort is part of the National eXtension Initiative. The authors are leaders of this Community of Practice, which consists of over 110 Extension agents, fire ant experts, communications specialists, and others. The project has proven that there is indeed strength in numbers. Sharing of information and collaborative development of content have led to a site that is far better than what could have been achieved by a single state. It includes basic information about fire ants, frequently asked questions about fire ants, and an interactive learning module to provide customized fire ant management advice.


Species 1: Hymenoptera Formicidae Solenopsis invicta (red imported fire ant)
Species 2: Hymenoptera Formicidae Solenopsis richteri (black imported fire ant)

See more of E. Extension and Regulatory Entomology
See more of Poster

See more of The 2007 ESA Annual Meeting, December 9-12, 2007