April 24, 2026

I am known as a Killdeer

I eat invertebrates such as crayfish and snails

I also follow plows

To see what they arouse

If it's larvae, they won't live to tell the tale!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Killdeer/lifehistory

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.

April 23, 2026

I am known as a Marbled Orbweaver

So named for my abdomen pattern

I'm more oval shaped than other orbweavers

If I wore a belt I would look like Saturn

Thanks to very special guest photographer, Heather Stapleton.

Location: Private residence, Vero Beach

Sources: https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Araneus_marmoreus/

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.

April 22, 2026

I am an Idioderma virescens

In the south-eastern US I'm a common true bug

True bugs have incomplete metamorphosis

Click below for a website Dee loves. 

Note from Dee: I was researching this bug and I couldn't find a lot of information about it, but my search did turn up this amazing site that shows how all life on earth is related. It is just too cool. Warning to nature/science nerds: don't click if you have to do something important in the next few hours:-)

Location: My car, Sebastian

Sources: https://www.onezoom.org/

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.

April 21, 2026

I am a female Pine Warbler

I'm sitting in a pine tree doin' my thing
My mate is much brighter yellow than me

But we both have a white, broken eye ring.

Location: North Sebastian Conservation Area

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pine_Warbler/overview

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.

April 20, 2026

This red stuff is known as Bark Rash Lichen

It's a mixture of alga and fungus

Its color changes depending on season and shade

And it won't grow on a tree that is trunkless.

(Make sure you read the linked article, it has one of the best descriptions of identifying lichens that I have found, including a brief but informative vocabulary section.)

Location: North Sebastian Conservation Area

Sources: https://lucec.loyno.edu/natural-history-writings/bark-rash-lichen-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.

April 19, 2026

We are known as Cedar Waxwings

Why are we called that? I'm glad you asked.

See the bright red wingtips 

In the first pic

It looks like I dipped them in red candle wax!

Location: North Sebastian Conservation Area

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/overview

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.

April 18, 2026

I am an adult Milkweed Bug

I'm in my 5th molt, so I'm ready to breed

I only eat seeds

Of the plant, Milkweed

Unlike Monarchs, I don't eat the leaves

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/milkweed-bug#:~:text=Milkweed%20bugs%2C%20Oncopeltus%20fasciatus%2C%20are,per%20day%20in%20small%20clusters.

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.