Since last Saturday morning, any of you attempting to go to the old citybugs (Insects in the City) site got a surprise. Insects in the City has a whole new look, and some new super-powers as well. I hope you’ll like the new look of the site with its animations, expanded links and greater use of insect and people images.

The News Updates feature of the old site has been revived using blogging software that was not available when the site first debuted several years ago. This makes it easier and faster for us at citybugs to post articles and pictures. In addition, I think the new platform makes for a much more attractive page and allows you to subscribe to receive any new Insect Updates. I hope you’ll agree.

To subscribe to the Updates, simply type your email address in the Subscribe Now box on the home page. You will have to type in a code word (spam protection) and an email will be sent to your address. Your subscription will be started when you respond to the email by clicking on the confirmation link. (Note: The confirmation email should show up in your in box pretty soon after you register. A few users have complained that they did not received the confirmation email or subsequent postings. If this happens, check your junk mail box and be sure to add us to your safe senders list.)

If you are familiar with the old Insects in the City, you’ll notice that the new site does not yet have all the content of the old. Please be patient. We are still transferring old Fastsheets into the new F@ctsheet format, and are still very much a work in progress. If you hang in there, we hope to have things better than ever over the next few weeks. In addition to the old content, we are adding links to other Texas AgriLife content that was not previously accessible before through this site.

The goal of Insects in the City is to make information easier to find, particularly for any of you who might not know exactly what you are looking for. You can start by following one of the main links under Factsheets and Links, and checking out pictures and descriptions as you go. If you don’t find what you are looking for, let us know and I will do my best to add new F@ctsheets or links if the demand is there.

So, welcome to the new Insects in the City. I hope you will find the information here both helpful and entertaining.