Tuesday, October 15, 2024

October 15, 2024

I am a Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly
I'm pretty, but don't eat me or my young
Aristolochic acid is lethal
To critters and people
And would be the last thing to touch your tongue.

(To quote the linked article, "The caterpillars of the Pipevine Swallowtail feed on the poisonous host plant, Aristolochia, also known as the pipevine [which] contains the lethal toxin aristolochic acid.")

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=17456

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Monday, October 14, 2024

October 14, 2024

I am a Green Lynx spider
When Dee saw me, she got all excited
She thought she saw me
Carrying a baby
Her spider reputation is clearly misguided!

(Note from Dee: I realized after looking at other photos of Green Lynx that what I thought were her  baby's head and legs were her own chelicera and pedipalps! Enlarge the photo and you will see what I mean.)

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/green_lynx_spider.htm

https://biologyandbiodiversityinspiders.weebly.com/spider-anatomy.html

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Sunday, October 13, 2024

October 13, 2024

I am the larvae of a Dogwood Sawfly
I have no natural enemies
I'm harmless to you
But what I do to 
Dogwood trees should be a felony!

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://ag.umass.edu/landscape/publications-resources/insect-mite-guide/macremphytus-tarsatus

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Saturday, October 12, 2024

October 12, 2024

This plant is in the Subgenus Clematis
It might be Virgin's Bower, but I'm not quite sure
The leaves to not look quite pointy enough
At a different life stage, there's more to observe.

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1398783-Clematis

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Friday, October 11, 2024

October 11, 2024

This plant is Phlox paniculata
Commonly known as Fall Phlox
Spider mites and Phlox bugs can kill this plant
But hummingbirds think that it rocks!

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/phlox-paniculata/

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Thursday, October 10, 2024

October 10, 2024

This is Biennial Beeblossom
Its flowers start white, but age to pink
It hybridizes with other species so
Although recognizable, it's not always distinct.

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=OEGA

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

October 9, 2024

This plant is in the Genus Verbesina
But it is not a Verbina relation
But they have very similar foliage
Which explains the naming situation.

Location: Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/72422-Verbesina

Photo and text © 2024 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

If you are reading and enjoying this blog, please consider supporting me on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/deeat8am, or purchase my current book, The Rhyming Guide to Florida Spiders (details at https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/p/rhyming-guide-to-florida-spiders-now.html). Thank you for being a reader and friend of Dee at 8 A.M.