August 31, 2023

I am a female Rambur's Forktail

My mate and I make a circle when we get down

Although I look like I'm wearing Mickey Mouse ears, 

Those are my eyes, they are black, big and round.

Location: Titusville Field Station, Titusville

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/70191-Ischnura-ramburii

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 30, 2023

I am called Seven-spotted Lady Beetle

Although I can actually have up to nine spots.

I can mate 4 to 6 times just in one day

And lay 440 eggs in season -  that's a lot!

Location: Titusville Field Station, Titusville

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 29, 2023

I am a female Scarlet Skimmer

You can tell, because my abdomen's yellow

If I was male, I would be bright red

But my coloring's a bit more mellow. 

Location: Titusville Field Station, Titusville

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 28, 2023

I am a spider in the family Selenopidae, 

Commonly known as Flattie. 

My legs extend sideways and are twisted up, 

So I can lay flat and also move at great speed.

Location: Private residence, Sebastian

Sources: http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2013/03/spider-sunday-flatties.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 27, 2023

I am a Leucauge argyra

I'm in the family of Longjawed Orbweavers

I kill my prey then liquify their insides

I'm an insect drinker, not an insect eater.

Location: Private residence, Sebastian

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/SPIDERS/Leucauge-argyrobapta.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 26, 2023

I am a large Crane Fly

I'm in the Tipulidae family

Although I look like giant mosquito, 

I don't eat or bite, luckily. 

Location: Private residence, Sebastian

Sources: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/06/26/q-find-large-mosquito-looking-insects-house/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 25, 2023

I am known as a Cooper's Hawk

You can identify me in flight

I look like some hawks superficially

But you can ID me by my flap-flap-glide. 

Location: Private residence, Sebastian

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 24, 2023

I am known as a Swallow-tailed Kite

I'll head to South America in the fall

I come to Florida to breed and raise young

And hang out in trees that are tall.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/swallow-tailed-kite

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 23, 2023

I am a widdle baby Gopher Tortoise

I'm yellowish now cause I'm young

I can live from 40 to 60 years old

But for now, I'm still just a punk.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/reptiles/gopher-tortoise/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 22, 2023

I am a Six-lines Racerunner

I can live from savannahs to woodlands and dunes

You might seen be dashing about in the morning

But I seek shelter in the hot afternoon.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.102815/Aspidoscelis_sexlineatus

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 21, 2023

I am known as a True Cricket

My antenna are long, unlike grasshoppers

I rub my wings together to stridulate

They rub their legs on their wings, how improper!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/orthoptera.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 20, 2023

I am a nymph of a Helmeted Squash Bug

As an adult I'm sometimes known to play dead

Adults can also damage oranges and potted plants

And  they are brownish, not orange-red.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/flowers/euthochtha_galeator.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 19, 2023

I am a female Regal Jumping Spider

If I were male I'd only be black and white

My front legs are shorter than my mates

But we're an adorable pair of Dee-lights.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 18, 2023

I am a male Jumping Spider in the genus Maevia

Some call me Paramaevia michelsoni, but my name is in flux

My taxonomy has been changed a few times

The beauty of science - there's always much to discuss. 

Special thanks to G.B. Edwards, Ph.D., Curator Emeritus: Arachnida & Myriapoda, Florida State Collection of Arthropods for letting me go out with him to look for spiders a few weeks ago.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Edwards_Paramaevia_michelsoni_01.jpg

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 17, 2023

I am a Palm Flatid Planthopper

I've been told I resemble a tiny sailboat

Cabbage, Saw, and Sable Palms are my host plants

I look sharp, but you won't see me wear a tail coat.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/palms/ormenaria_rufifascia.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 16, 2023

I am a Burrowing Owl

Underground's where I usually stay

But today I'm hanging out on a sea turtle

He's sweet but doesn't have much to say.

Very special thanks to today's guest photographer, Eric Holland.

Location: Cape Coral, private residence

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

Photo © 2023 Eric Holland and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 15, 2023

I am a Long-legged Sac Spider

I am known as a nocturnal prowler.

I hunt prey at night, I might give humans a bite 

That can cause pain, rash and blisters over the next 10 hours.

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://extension.psu.edu/agrarian-sac-spider-and-longlegged-sac-spider

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 14, 2023

I am known as a Jewel Beetle

I am a metallic wood borer

When I was a larvae, I bored into the heart of a tree

Now I'm an adult plant and tree stump explorer.

Location: Riverside Park, Vero

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/choate/chalcophora1.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 13, 2023

We are known as Tumble Bugs

We're also called Dung Rollers

We find poop, roll it up, bury, then eat it

The name "dung rollers" is not a misnomer.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27372383_Observations_on_the_Ball-Rolling_Behavior_of_Canthon_Pilularius_L_Coleoptera_Scarabaeidae

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 12, 2023

I am a male Long-jawed Orbweaver

I often live near streams and rivers

I build a horizontal web above the water

And catch and eat what the water delivers

Such as insects like midges and mayflies

Which can make quite tasty dinners.

Location: T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor unit

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1997

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 11, 2023

I am a female in the Tetragnatha species

Long-jawed Orbweaver is my common name

My front legs are extremely long 

And come in handy for acts of legerdemain.

Location: T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor unit

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1958

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 10, 2023

I am known as a Black-necked Stilt

According to Cornell, I'm smaller than a Willet

Cornell also says I'm larger than a Lesser Yellowlegs

But you can only tell if you see me standing with it.

(Note: This kind of comparison has always driven me a little crazy. If I don't know how big a Black-necked Stilt is, there is a good chance I won't know how big a Willet or Lesser Yellowlegs is either. In general, I think it would be much better to compare bird size to non bird objects such as, a can of beer, a six-pack, a case of beer or a keg of beer.)

Location: T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor unit

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Black-necked_Stilt/id

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 9, 2023

I am a typical Cobweb Spider

I’m about as long as I am wide

That is common for species in my genus

We got big butts and we cannot lie!

Location: My House, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/82081-Theridion

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 8, 2023

We are both Gray-headed Swamphens

We are not native and our population's increasing.

Florida attempted to cull my ancestors in 2006

But our procreation is unceasing. 

Location: T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor unit

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Gray-headed_Swamphen/overview

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 7, 2023

I am known as a Large-billed Tern

South America's where I'm usually found

This was my first time in Florida

I was recognized by my huge bill and black crown.

Location: T.M. Goodwin Waterfowl Management Area, Broadmoor unit

Sources: https://ebird.org/species/labter1

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 6, 2023

I am a Florida True Katydid

I'm probably female because I'm pinkish-brown

Only 10 percent of males are this color

You'll see many more green Katydids around.

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/35543

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 5, 2023

I am in the Tribe Macrosiphini

That's a fancy way of saying I'm some kind of Aphid.

Dee unknowingly picked up me and 20 of my friends

We'd be easier to see if we were in the family Giraffid.

There are 2 tribes in the subfamily Aphidinae

Aphidini's like Macrosiphini, but not a copy - 

Antennae length is one way to differentiate - 

Aphidini's antennae are never longer than their body.

(Note: That is my finger it is on, it's a very tiny insect!)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://influentialpoints.com/aphid/Aphidinae.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 4, 2023

This plant is known as Sandhill St. John's Wort

Some people say Perforate St. John's Wort helps with depression

But these make me happy, such cute little flowers, 

And I'll choose viewing them over ingestion. 

(Note: This plant Hypericum tenuifolium, the alleged medicinal one is Hypericum perforatum.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

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

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/st-johns-wort-and-depression-in-depth

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 3, 2023

I am a Bassareus brunnipes

I'm a species of Case-bearing Leaf beetle

When I was a larvae I lived in a case made of poop

It protected me from predators lethal.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/13739

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 2, 2023

These are eggs in the Order Neuroptera

I'm thinking Lacewings, as I've seen them around

Eggs on a string, seem a precarious thing, 

But soon Lacewing larvae will abound.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://www.amentsoc.org/insects/fact-files/orders/neuroptera.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 1, 2023

I am a Red House Spider

You might remember seeing my face before

My mom had 4 eggs, and then past away

In the picture below, I'm spiderling 24.

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: https://deeateightam.blogspot.com/2023/05/may-4-2023.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson