Tuesday, April 30, 2024

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.

Monday, April 29, 2024

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.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

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.



Saturday, April 27, 2024

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.





Friday, April 26, 2024

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.

Thursday, April 25, 2024

Resources for Bird Beaks Talk

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.




Wednesday, April 24, 2024

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.





Tuesday, April 23, 2024

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.

Monday, April 22, 2024

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.

Sunday, April 21, 2024

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.

Saturday, April 20, 2024

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.



Friday, April 19, 2024

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.

Thursday, April 18, 2024

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.

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

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.

Tuesday, April 16, 2024

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.

Monday, April 15, 2024

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.

Sunday, April 14, 2024

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.

Saturday, April 13, 2024

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.

Friday, April 12, 2024

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.

Thursday, April 11, 2024

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.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

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.

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

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.

Monday, April 8, 2024

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.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

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.

Saturday, April 6, 2024

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.

Friday, April 5, 2024

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.




Thursday, April 4, 2024

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.

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

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.

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

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.

Monday, April 1, 2024

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.