Sunday, October 31, 2021

October 31, 2021

Toxostoma rufum - Brown Thrasher in Scrub Oak
I am known as a Brown Thrasher
East and mid-western US is where I reside
I'm known as a "short distant migrant" but
I've also been seen in Europe (just twice.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

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

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Saturday, October 30, 2021

October 30, 2021

Marbled Grasshopper - Spharagemon marmorata Close up facing camera
I am a Marbled Grasshopper
Shown here from the front, top and both sides
When I fly, you can see my black and yellow tibiae
And when I sit, you can see beauty defined.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/ghopper/band.pdf

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Marbled Grasshopper - Spharagemon marmorata Left side view

Marbled Grasshopper - Spharagemon marmorata Right side view

Marbled Grasshopper - Spharagemon marmorata Top view


Friday, October 29, 2021

October 29, 2021

I am a Psorophora ciliata
In the south some folks call me "Gallinipper"
But most people call me a large mosquito
And fear the painful, itchy bites I deliver.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/AQUATIC/Ps_ciliata.htm

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Thursday, October 28, 2021

October 28, 2021

We are a colony of Paper Wasps
All of us have jobs in our hive
The queens lays eggs in each cell, and everything's swell
Till winter comes and only mated females survive.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/paper-wasp/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

October 27, 2021

I am a Delaware Skipper
You can find me from Southern Maine west to the Great Lakes 
You can find me in Montana and Mexico, 
And El Salvador and the US Gulf states. 

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Anatrytone-logan

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

October 26, 2021

This is a Lance-leaved Coreopsis
In Florida, it's native and in demand
Pollinators love it and it's easy to grow
But it's an "alien invasive species" in Japan.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=cola5

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Monday, October 25, 2021

October 25, 2021

We are Common Lovebugs
You find us smooshed on your windshield when you go to get groceries
The females are larger and heavier than males
Due to the size of their ovaries.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/lovebug.HTM

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Sunday, October 24, 2021

October 24, 2021

I am an exotic Asian Tiger Mosquito
I was introduced in Florida in 1997
I have a mean bite, avoiding dawn and twilight
Wearing long sleeves, and DEET are your best weapons.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/aquatic/asian_tiger.htm

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Saturday, October 23, 2021

October 23, 2021

I'm a female fly in the Genus Diachlorus
Probably a Yellow Fly of the Dismal Swamp
My color is right - and so is my bite -
I don't just nibble,  I CHOMP.

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdf/IN/IN595/IN595-D0klzo8z99.pdf

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Friday, October 22, 2021

October 22, 2021

I am a non-breeding European Starling
You can tell by the white speckles on my chest
And my beak is not yellow, I'm a drab fellow
But I'm not breeding now, so why look my best?

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/European_Starling/overview#

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Thursday, October 21, 2021

October 21, 2021

This is the home of the Organ-pipe Mud-dauber Wasp
These wasps are generally docile unless you bother them
Mama wasps fill each tube with live paralyzed spiders
To provide a warm meal for their larvae, who gobble them. 

(Wasps can be pretty mean to spiders. Maybe I should have saved this one for Halloween!)

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Pipe-Organ-Mud-Dauber-Wasp

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

October 20, 2021

I am a Nason's Slug Moth
I live in the eastern United States
My wings have dark lines that don't ever meet
It's one of my identifying traits.

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Natada-nasoni

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

October 19, 2021

I am known as a Blue Dasher
I think because I dash all over the place
But I'd rather believe it's cause I'm dashing
Just look at my crazy-handsome face!

Location: WW Ranch Road, St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Sebastian 

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/598

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson


Monday, October 18, 2021

October 18, 2021

This is a Fourvalve Mimosa
It's in the Pea family
Like yesterday's plant, they have thorns on their stems
And can stick you, quite handily.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/mimosa-quadrivalvis

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Sunday, October 17, 2021

October 17, 2021

I think this is is Littleleaf Sensitive-Briar
You can see hooked briars on the stem
And it's leaves are sensitive to the touch
But I forgot to test by touching them.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=mimi22

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Saturday, October 16, 2021

October 16, 2021

This is a Western Honey Bee
Sitting on a Fourvalve Mimosa
In addition to bees, 
Butterflies will seize
Pollen from the plant like Hector Barbossa.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/mimosa-strigillosa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Barbossa

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Friday, October 15, 2021

October 15, 2021

This plant is called Vanillaleaf
It is also known as Deer Tongue
It propagates by adding pups next to the main rosette,
And thus the plant becomes far-flung.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/carphephorus-odoratissimus

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Thursday, October 14, 2021

October 14, 2021

This is the Whitemouth Dayflower
It's also called "Widow's Tears"
In Spanish, the name's "herb of the chicken"
At least that's what I hear.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

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

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

October 13, 2021

This flower is known as Fringed Star Grass
It's in the Iris family
This family grows from rhizomes, bulbs, or corms, And has pretty flowers with narrow basal leaves.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HYJU
https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/chester/how-to-gardening-brochures/bulbs-corms-rhizomes-and-tubers

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

October 12, 2021

This is a Florida native plant
That's known as American Sicklepod
In California, it's known as a noxious weed
And it's foliage smells unpleasantly odd.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=369266

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Monday, October 11, 2021

October 11, 2021

This is Fourpetal St. Johnswort
It grows well in a moist wildflower garden
It attracts bees and other pollinators
And is well on its way to stardom.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/hypericum-tetrapetalum

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Sunday, October 10, 2021

October 10, 2021

This is Polygala rugelii
Also known as Yellow Milkwort
It would make a nice boutonnière
On the lapel of a fancy silk shirt.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-polygala-rugelii/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson



Saturday, October 9, 2021

October 9, 2021

This is Chapman's Goldenrod
It grows in Florida and some parts of Georgia
It has a fibrous root system that can stabilize soils
And can benefit other fauna and flora.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/assets/pdf/pubs/solidago_odora_chapmansgoldenrod.pdf

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Friday, October 8, 2021

October 8, 2021

I am a bug in the Order Heteroptera
I am leaf-footed and I am a "true bug"
I have a hypodermic needle-like mouth
To suck fluids from critters - not to do drugs.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.si.edu/spotlight/buginfo/true-bugs
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/203134-Merocoris

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Thursday, October 7, 2021

October 7, 2021

I am a Resonant Cicada
I lay eggs in wood or old twigs
My nyphs dig into the dirt
Where they won't get hurt
Eventually they come out in summer for singing gigs.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/72461

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

October 6, 2021

This is Sesbania vesicaria
Its common name is Bladder Pod
Its a dicotyledon which means
It has two seed leaves
Which isn't particularly odd.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/890511-Sesbania-vesicaria

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Tuesday, October 5, 2021

October 5, 2021

This is known as Bigpod Sesbania
It blooms in the late summer and autumn months
Its toxicity 
Depends on what you read
But everything's edible once.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://www.floraofalabama.org/Plant.aspx?id=2059
https://www.newsherald.com/news/20190624/sesbania-coming-soon-to-yard-pasture-near-you

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Monday, October 4, 2021

October 4, 2021

I am a mature male Band-winged Dragonlet
You know I'm male because I'm olivaceous
My wing stripes get darker as I get older
Which I do on a regular basis.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://odonata.tacc.utexas.edu/index.php/FieldGuideAction.get/id/47039

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Sunday, October 3, 2021

October 3, 2021

This is a Rusty Bird Grasshopper
But grasshoppers can be hard to ID
Click on the link below for
A handy grasshopper Identification key.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://bioone.org/journals/florida-entomologist/volume-87/issue-4/0015-4040_2004_087_0537_KTTGOA_2.0.CO_2/KEY-TO-THE-GRASSHOPPERS-ORTHOPTERA-ACRIDIDAE-OF-FLORIDA/10.1653/0015-4040(2004)087[0537:KTTGOA]2.0.CO;2.full?tab=ArticleLink

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Saturday, October 2, 2021

October 2, 2021

This plant is known as Mohr's Thoroughwort
It's in the Aster family
It is a perennial herb
With a simple leaf complexity.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=EUMO4

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Friday, October 1, 2021

October 1, 2021

I am a Hairy Woodpecker,
Note the picture shot from behind -
The thin black line separating the red
Is one way I can be positively defined.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://feederwatch.org/learn/tricky-bird-ids/downy-woodpecker-and-hairy-woodpecker/

Photo and text © 2021 Dee Fairbanks Simpson