April 30, 2022

I am an American Bumble Bee

My population is being decreased

Due to being socially parasitized

And a virus from European bees. 

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

Sources: https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/american-bumble-bee.shtml

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 29, 2022

I am known as a Gray Hairstreak

My color is darker when my wings are open

When my wings are closed,

As you would suppose

They are grey with streaks that are mottled and broken.

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

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wildflowers/butterfly/gray-hairstreak/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 28, 2022

I am a Large Four-spotted Scoliid Wasp

I am a parasitoid of beetle babies

I sting and paralyze beetle larvae

Then my babies eat the larvae when they please.

Yes, this means that the beetle larvae is still alive, but can't move when the wasp larvae eat it. 

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

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/wasps/scoliid_wasps.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 27, 2022

I am a male Regal Jumping Spider

My mate is much larger than I

If you saw her, you'd be screamin'

But for really no reason

As for me? You would just pass me by.

Note: Regal Jumping Spiders are harmless to humans, but the females are pretty big and can look scary if you don't know that!

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

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/regal_jumping_spider.htm

https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/2019/11/november-21-2019.html

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 26, 2022

I am known as a Flower Scarab

I'm dark with markings the color of cream

Some consider me a pest because I snack on

Corn, roses, and flowers from fruit bearing trees.

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

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/beetles/euphoria_sepulcralis.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 25, 2022

I am a male Polites vibex

Commonly known as a Whirlabout

My girlfriend's dark brown, 

When we fly around town

You can tell us apart without a doubt. 

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

Sources: https://butterfliesofamerica.com/t/Polites_vibex_a.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 24, 2022

I am known as a Twin-spot Skipper

Named for my two spots that are close together

Although in history I've been seen as far north as New York

I tend to prefer the US south's warmer weather.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Oligoria-maculata

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 23, 2022

I am a Brown-winged Striped Sweat Bee

I'm mostly green and black, but I've got brown wings

At the moment I am covered with pollen -

I don't really have white fuzzy rear limbs.

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

Sources: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.882084/Agapostemon_splendens

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 22, 2022

I am a male Florida Leaf-footed Bug

You know I'm not a girl cause my back legs are thick

Girls legs are thinner and have a few spikes

I've one large spike and a painful prick!

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

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/16073

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 21, 2022

We are known as Eastern Leaf-footed bugs

The blue spot on the smaller of us is an aberration

It is not age or sexual dimorphism

It might be paint or just a discoloration.

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

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/leaffooted_bug.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 20, 2022

This is Cirsium horridulum

Also known as "Purple" or "Bristle" Thistle

It attract tons of cool butterflies and insects

And has prickly leaves as sharp as a sickle.

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

Sources: https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Cirshorr

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 19, 2022

This is known as Sand Blackberry

It's in the Rose family

The Genus Rubus includes wild and cultivated

Blackberries and raspberries. 

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

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

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 18, 2022

I am a Variable Lady Beetle

I'm not native to Florida but still a beauty to behold

I eat lots of insects that are pests such and work

As an excellent biological control.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://wiki.nus.edu.sg/display/TAX/Coelophora+inaequalis+-+Variable+Ladybird

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 17, 2022

This is Lantana strigocamara

It is a hybrid invasive exotic

It's toxic to humans, pets and livestock

Feel free to kill it with a vengeance rhapsodic.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/lantana-camara/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 16, 2022

I am a type of Soldier Beetle

Specifically, I'm a Margined Leatherwing

I am a good pollinator and I eat garden pests

Such as Aphids, Grasshoppers and other things.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/2015/03/02/manage-yard-pests-responsibly/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 15, 2022

I am a Gulf Fritillary butterfly

I look quite different when my wings are open

I'll mate and have multiple broods in a year - 

At least that is what I am hoping!

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/gulf_fritillary.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 14, 2022

We are Blue Dasher dragonflies

(At the top) I'm an adult male

You can tell because of my big green eyes

Red eyes eyes mean I'm young or female.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/59774-Pachydiplax-longipennis

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 13, 2022

I am a Scarlet Skimmer

I live in low-quality wetlands

I was introduced to Florida from Eurasia

And I'm cold blooded so I lack sweat glands.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/animals/do-animals-sweat.html

https://bugguide.net/node/view/18756

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 12, 2022

I am a female Four-spotted Pennant

If I were male, my spots would be more prominent

You can find me from Texas to New Jersey

And other places on the North American continent.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: http://www.wildsouthflorida.com/four-spotted.pennant.dragonfly.html

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 11, 2022

We are female Western Honey Bees,

Age-related polyethism's the way that we work

That a fancy way to say

Our job's determined by age

But we always work, unlike drones, lazy jerks!

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN1005

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 10, 2022

I am a Great Southern White butterfly

My Deely Boppers are turquoise

I never wear trousers

My farts smell like flowers

And never make an audible noise.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/wildflowers/butterfly/great-southern-white/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 9, 2022

This is American Black Elderberry

It is a highly poisonous aquatic plant

Although some similar-looking aquatic plants are edible,

Don't try it, you might not live to recant.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-directory/sambucus-nigra-subsp-canadensis/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 8, 2022

We are both Eastern Pondhawk dragonflies

We can eat bugs that are bigger than us

We are also a predator of the Bollworm moth

Which, for the cotton industry, is a big plus.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/577

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3492320

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 7, 2022

This plant is known as Sweetscent

It is also known as Marsh Fleabane

It's also known as Sourbush and Stinkweed

(Sigh) a rose by any other name...

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-pluchea-odorata/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 6, 2022

I am an adult Little Blue Heron

Although that kind of sounds like a paradox

And I'm not totally blue, my head and neck are maroon

And my bi-colored beak is a little unorthodox.

Location: Goodwin Wildlife Management Area, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Little_Blue_Heron/id

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 5, 2022

I am known as a Brown Anole

I use my dewlap to announce my presence

The light shining through it at this time of day

Gives the illusion of incandescence.

Location: Private residence, Vero Beach

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW486

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 4, 2022

I am an Eastern Screech-Owl

Nesting in a box in my bestie, Heather's, back yard

Today is her birthday, so please wish her well

And give her my best regards. 

(Today's post is for Heather, longtime Dee and Dee at 8 a.m. supporter.)

Location: Private residence, Vero Beach

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Eastern_Screech-Owl/id

https://masternaturalist.ifas.ufl.edu/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 3, 2022

This is Florida Pennyroyal

It is in the mint family

And as mentioned in the classic Nirvana song,

You can brew its leaves into a tea.

Location: Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary, Rockledge

Sources: https://www.flawildflowers.org/flower-friday-piloblephis-rigida/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dcIPGzxsl8

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 2, 2022

I am a baby Osprey

Shown here conferring with my mom 

She feeds me, protects me and always

Performs her motherly duties with great aplomb.

Location: Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary, Rockledge

Sources: https://abcbirds.org/bird/osprey

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 1, 2022

David Simpson's got a strange growth on his head

It's oddly shaped, blue and a tad ostentatious

Oh no! Now look! Dee's got one too

I fear Florida Scrub-Jays might be contagious. 

(Disclaimer: We did not encourage this behavior in any way. These birds just landed on us, David while he was walking, and me when I bent down to take the photos seen in yesterday's blog. Never entice or encourage wild birds to land on you, and never hand feed wild birds.)

Location: Cruickshank Wildlife Sanctuary, Rockledge

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/news/when-its-okay-or-not-feed-birds

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson