April 30, 2024

I am a Brown-belted Bumble Bee

I'm black on my butt and my face

The rest of my body is yellow

Except for the brown belt round my waist.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://www.bumblebeewatch.org/field-guide/20/

Photo and text © 2024 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 29, 2024

I am an Anelosimus studiosus

My species can be docile or aggressive

If I'm aggressive I'm more likely to survive a hurricane

If I'm docile, my survival rate's less impressive.

Note: Make sure that you read the article below, it's a super interesting study about spider personality types and how they handle hurricanes. 

Location: Oyster Bay Marsh, Vero Beach

Sources: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/hurricane-spider-anelosimus-studiosus/

Photo and text © 2024 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 28, 2024

This is a Florida Greeneyes

It attracts butterflies, wasps and bees

It cannot tolerate flooding or salt

And is a member of the Aster family.

Location: Merritt Island

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 27, 2024

We are Phaon Crescent butterflies

Fogfruit is our caterpillar host

Our wings are just pretty when they're opened

But gorgeous and look like stained glass when they're closed.

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive (photo 1), Titusville and Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (photos 2-4)

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 26, 2024

I am known as a Paper Wasp

I've got two large compound eyes

I have 3 eyes that are Ocelli

I don't see through them directly

But I can use them to control my flight.

(Click to enlarge the photo, their eyes are pretty cool, and you can see all 5 in the photo.)

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville

Sources: https://engines.egr.uh.edu/episode/2877

Photo and text © 2024 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.

Resources for Bird Beaks Talk

• Kidwings: Bird Skulls
• Bird Note: What's a Beak Made Of?
• The Remarkable Adaptations of Birds to Their Environment
• The Amazing Secrets of Woodpecker Tongues
• Bluebird Song: Did you know they sing with their beaks closed?
• I Found A Baby Bird. What Do I Do?
• How to find a wildlife rehabilitator
• This Bird Is Evolving Right in Front of Us

April 25, 2024

We are known as Whirlabouts

Because our flight pattern is crazy and unwearied

We are sexually dimorphic

And our color can be somewhat varied. 

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville (male), Titusville and Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park (Female)

Sources: https://alabama.butterflyatlas.usf.edu/species/details/125/whirlabout

https://www2.nau.edu/~gaud/bio300b/sexdi.htm#:~:text=Sexual%20dimorphism%20is%20the%20systematic,is%20larger%20than%20the%20female

Photo and text © 2024 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 24, 2024

I am known as a Palatka Skipper

Sawgrass is my only caterpillar host

I am one of the largest skippers

And I mostly live near the coast.

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville

Sources: https://www.vararespecies.org/specie/Euphyes%20pilatka

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I am a species of Flower Crab Spider

Munching on some kind of ant

It's like a nightmare nature Turducken

We're both inside a carnivorous plant!

(Shout out to Heather Stapleton for the Turducken inspiration.)

Location: Apalachicola National Forest

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misumena

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

https://www.fnps.org/plant/sarracenia-flava

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I am known as a Poey's Furrow Bee

I'm not carrying much pollen so I'm probably male

Females have long hairs on their hind tibias

I'm thinner and sometimes have yellow details.

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville

Sources: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN897

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I am an Eastern Carpenter Bee

You might mistake me for a Bumble

But they have a hairy abdomen

Mine is glossy without any stubble.

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/xylocopa.htm

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I am known as a Glossy Ibis

When the sun hits me right I am sparkly and green

And pink and blue

And a little maroon

And even some aquamarine!

Location: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Titusville

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

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I am known as a Killdeer

I nest on the ground in a scrape

I sometimes lose eggs

To clumsy horse legs

That step on my nest - it's an honest mistake.

Location: Orlando Wetlands

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

Photo and text © 2024 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, 2024

I'm an American Alligator

I'm common throughout the south east

I've been seen in New Jersey

Heaven have mercy!

I didn't stay long, I'm a warm weather beast.

Location: Orlando Wetlands

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 17, 2024

I am known as a White Ibis

My face is getting red, I'll be breeding soon

I'll rub my bill

On my mate's head at will

It's easy to make female Ibises swoon.

Location: Orlando Wetlands

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 16, 2024

I am an American Bittern

I blend in with reeds, you can barely see me at all

One of my colloquial names is "water belcher"

Due to my loud, gulp-like call. 

Location: Orlando Wetlands

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 15, 2024

I am a Firey-crested Osprey

I bet you've never seen one before! 

Ha ha, just a joke, 

The weird branch evoked

Silliness Dee just could not ignore.

Location: Orlando Wetlands

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 14, 2024

This plant is known as a Prairie Iris

It grows in soil that is acidic

It's dormant in winter, but I wish it bloomed all year

But that wouldn't be scientific.

Location: Orlando Wetlands

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/iris-savannarum

Photo and text © 2024 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 13, 2024

I am an Eastern Meadowlark

I have a yellow tummy and black V on my chest

I'm brown and black

On my wings and back

On the ground I blend in, who'd have guessed!

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 12, 2024

I am known as Monk Skipper

In Florida I was introduced

I am native to Cuba

I'm not good at scuba

I lay eggs on Palm trees to reproduce.

Note: I have previously written about this butterfly on my blog, but as noted in the source, it has since undergone a taxonomic change from Asbolis capucinus.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://www.butterfliesofcuba.com/choranthus-capucinus---monk-skipper.html

Photo and text © 2024 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 11, 2024

I am a Tawny-edged Skipper

In addition to Thistle, I like nectar from Dogbane

I look quite similar to other skippers

Which definitely can confuse your brain.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Polites-themistocles

Photo and text © 2024 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 10, 2024

I am a Bombus pensylvanicus

I'm found in parts of Florida, but not in the keys

I wear a fuzzy yellow and black sweater

My friends call me "American Bumble Bee".

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/bumble_bees.htm

Photo and text © 2024 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 9, 2024

This is Cirsium horridulum

A thistle I write about every year

They have lots of thorns

That can leave your hands torn

But it's where all the cool insects appear.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/cirsium-horridulum

Photo and text © 2024 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 8, 2024

We are a family of Sandhill Cranes

A mom and a dad and two babies

Before we make babies we dance

It's our way of romance - 

We stretch and jump like the kids in the 80's. 

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

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

https://youtu.be/JpZRPCZfz_E?si=ao_hQxLTTR-90Fj4

Photo and text © 2024 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 7, 2024

I am a Pseudomethoca sanbornii

I'm a type of Velvet Ant

I don't have wings

But I'm a wasp and I sting

I won't kill you, but you will "Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" chant.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

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

Photo and text © 2024 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 6, 2024

I am an Eastern Pymgy-Blue butterfly

I'm small and mostly copper-brown

I look similar to

A Ceraunus Blue

But my color is closer to coffee grounds.

Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Brephidium-pseudofea

Photo and text © 2024 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 5, 2024

We are known as Salt Marsh Skippers

In Florida, we breed almost year round

Guys perch and then wait

For a female to date

Soon caterpillars abound!

Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Panoquina-panoquin

Photo and text © 2024 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 4, 2024

 

I am a Greater Yellowlegs

My voice is just one of my charms

Tatler's what some call me,

But unlike Cindy Brady

I only tattle when raising alarms. 

Location: Text

Sources: https://bradybunch.fandom.com/wiki/The_Tattle-Tale

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Greater_Yellowlegs/overview

Photo and text © 2024 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 3, 2024

I am a Great Southern White butterfly

Shown here with my friend, Honey Bee

We're both pollinators who love Biden's Alba

But I'm the only one who's migratory.

Location: WW Ranch Road, SSRPSP

Sources: https://herofortheplanet.org/pollinators/explore/migration/

Photo and text © 2024 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 2, 2024

I am known as a Roseate Spoonbill

When I was first born, I didn't look the same

My beak used to be stubby and chunkier

But after a month, it flattened out til I looked like my name.

Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Sources: https://fl.audubon.org/news/everglades-science-center-team-conducts-baby-spoonbill-surveys

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Roseate_Spoonbill/overview#

Photo and text © 2024 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 1, 2024

I am a Giant Blue Spider

Despite what your bird guide might say

I've got 8 legs and eyes

I'm just in disguise

To celebrate April Fool's day

Location: Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Sources: Dee's twisted little brain

Photo and text © 2024 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.