May 15, 2026

I am known as a Black Stink Bug

But that name's not entirely true

My legs are part white

And my back spot is light

And my mate likes my sweet perfume

Location: On the side (outside) of my house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN795

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 14, 2026

I am known as an Eastern Leaf-footed bug

You know I'm me cause my white stripe is unbroken

I'm mostly considered a minor pest to crops

And can be found from Florida to Hoboken*.

*Technically Long Island, but they are close enough, and Long Island doesn't rhyme with "unbroken"

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN229

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 13, 2026

We are known as Dark Flower Scarabs

We feed on pollen and sap and fruit

We occasionally are pests of mangoes and corn

Destroying the flowers before fruit is produced.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN750

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 12, 2026

We are both Spotless Lady Beetles

Though I (in photo 1) posed with my head down

And with macrophotography I look like a peach

But not Jame's*, which was big as a town. 

* As in Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/391240608_Eye-spot-only_Ladybird_Beetle_Cycloneda_sanguinea_Linnaeus_in_New_Countries_and_Islands_while_declining_in_abundance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_and_the_Giant_Peach

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 11, 2026

We are Southern Green-striped Grasshoppers

We can be seen in brown or green phases

Scientist argue if we are Chortophaga viridifasciata

But just live in different places.

(To clarify, these are both Southern Green-striped Grasshoppers [Chortophaga australior], which have two distinct color phases. In question is whether or not Southern Green-striped Grasshoppers are a different species from the Green-striped Grasshoppers [Chortophaga viridifasciata] found outside of the southeastern US.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://auth1.dpr.ncparks.gov/orth/view.php?checklist_number=79.0

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 10, 2026

We are instars of the Tobacco Budworm moth

We are considered pests due to what we eat:

Tobacco leaves

Which contain nicotine,

Which is harmful to all human beings.

(I'm not sure why they were all over the thistle - perhaps the anti-smoking messages are getting out into the wild!)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/chloridea-virescens

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobacco

Photo and text © 2026 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.

May 9, 2026

We are all Blister Beetles 

Though the specific species is hard to tell

We are mostly variations of orange and black

And are all fairly small and svelte.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN323

Photo and text © 2026 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.