Dee At 8 A.M.: July 2026

Friday, July 31, 2026

July 31, 2026

I am known as a Hypanartia dione dione
As a larvae I built 4 shelters

I used the shelters to molt through 6 instars

And now I'm off on butterfly adventures.

Location: Refugio Paz de las Aves, Ecuador

Sources: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267806353_The_life_history_of_Hypanartia_dione_dione_Lepidoptera_Nymphalidae_in_northeastern_Ecuador

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, July 30, 2026

July 30, 2026

I am an Amastus coccinator

I'm in the Arctiini tribe

Arctiini is based on the greek word for "bear"

Cause as a larva I had a cute furry hide.

Location: Cosanga Napo, Cosanga, Ecuador

Sources: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/39181

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

July 29, 2026

I am a Periclina syctaria

I'm in the family of Geometer Moths

When I was young I was known as an "inchworm"

Not cause of my size, but the way that I walk.

Location: Quijos, Ecuador

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

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

July 28, 2026

I am a known as a Red-spotted Newt

I'm in the terrestrial adult stage of life

As an egg and larva I lived in the water

To where I'll return to find a breeding site.

Special thanks to today's first time guest photographer, Sammy McGee!

Location: Greybeard Mountain Trail Montreat, NC

Sources: https://www.virginiaherpetologicalsociety.com/amphibians/salamanders/red-spotted-newt/index.php

Monday, July 27, 2026

July 27, 2026

I am a Tawny-bellied Hermit

My beak is long and curved

I used it to catch arthropods and drink nectar

Conservation-wise, I'm a species of least concern.

Location: La Brisa (hummingbird feeders), Ecuador

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/tabher1/cur/introduction

Sunday, July 26, 2026

July 26, 2026

I am a male White-booted Racket-tail

I’ve a long tail, and large white leg puffs

My mate has a short tail and much smaller boots

But for me, she is more than enough!

Location: Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/boorat1/cur/introduction

Saturday, July 25, 2026

July 25, 2026

I am a Giant Hummingbird

My beak is black, straight and stout

You might be confused by this photo,

My beak is not curved, that’s my tongue sticking out!

Location: Antisana Ecological Reserve, Quijos, Ecuador

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/giahum1/cur/introduction

Friday, July 24, 2026

July 24, 2026

I am a Purple-throated Woodstar

Though my throat can look black in flight

You will just have to trust me it’s glittery purple

When you catch me in just the right light!

(The female is shown in the second photo)

Location: Sachatamia Lodge, Ecuador

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/putwoo1/cur/introduction

Thursday, July 23, 2026

July 23, 2026

We are in the summer doldrums in Florida right now. Let's resume our (paused but not forgotten) Ecuador trip!

I am a male White-Whiskered Hermit

I am known to feed by trap-lining

This means that have a series of flowers I visit

At regular intervals for my nectar fine dining.

Location: Rio Silanche Bird Sanctuary, Ecuador

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whwher1/cur/introduction#repro

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30585437/

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

July 22, 2026

I am a Lesser Meadow Katydid

As the name suggests, I live in meadows and fields

I like to eat insects, flowers, and seeds

Whatever the meadow shall yield.

Location: Fellsmere Rd, Sebastian

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/118890-Conocephalus

Tuesday, July 21, 2026

July 21, 2026

I am a juvenile Gopher Tortoise

I'm about the size of the toes on Dee's boot

Despite the odds, I've lived past the hatchling stage

Now I'll spend 60 years keeping house and in mating pursuit.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://savethetortoises.org/blogs/tortoise-tracks-conservation-journeys/from-hatchling-to-adult-the-life-stages-of-gopher-tortoises

Monday, July 20, 2026

July 20, 2026

I am a Florida Garden Spider

I'm like the Yellow Garden Spider except -

My butt looks like a crown

It has gold and it's round

But at building webs, we are both quite adept.

Location: Seabranch Preserve State Park, Stuart

Sources: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/127353-Argiope-florida

Sunday, July 19, 2026

July 19, 2026

Today's post is in memory of long time friend Mary, who loved Capybaras and will be missed.

We are known as Capybara

We are the largest rodents in the world

We have webbed feet

And eat grasses and leaves

And are so adorable, it's just absurd!

Location: Brevard Zoo, captive

Sources: https://www.ran.org/wildlife-factsheet/wildlife-fact-sheet-capybara/

Saturday, July 18, 2026

July 18, 2026

This is our last day in Japan (at least until Joy stumbles across other cool stuff around her new home. Special thanks again to guest photographer Joy Handley for sharing the wonders of the nature in her new home with us.

We are known as Eurasian Coots

We have have solid white shields and beaks

American Coot beaks have a grey ring on the end

And their shields are dark read at the peak.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/eurcoo/cur/identification

Friday, July 17, 2026

July 17, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am known as a Greater Cormorant

Of the Cormorants, I am the widest spread

I am breed in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australasia

Double-cresteds are smaller and have smaller crests on their heads.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: http://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/grecor/cur/identification

Thursday, July 16, 2026

July 16, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am known as a White Wagtail

My subspecies is either lugens or ocularis

Our breeding habitats, nesting and songs differ

But from a photo, subspecies ID can be a birding abyss.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whiwag/cur/introduction

Wednesday, July 15, 2026

July 15, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am a Common Bluebottle butterfly

My wings are aqua surrounded by black

You can find me in moist rain forests

Or if I'm male, in a puddle seeking snacks.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

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

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

July 14, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am a Japanese Common Grass Yellow butterfly

I am yellow with black spots on my wings

I fly around grasslands and forests

And can be seen starting in early spring.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://www.takao599museum.jp/treasures/insects/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AD%E3%83%81%E3%83%A7%E3%82%A6%E7%A7%91/3283/?lang=en

Monday, July 13, 2026

July 13, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am known as a Little Egret

I look similar to a Snowy

As in the US my population was decimated

By people with dull hats that they wanted to be showy.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/litegr/cur/introduction

Sunday, July 12, 2026

July 12, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

We are known as Black-headed Gulls

Though at the moment we are non-breeding

Right now our heads are just smudged here and there

There's just a few months when our name's not misleading.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/bkhgul/cur/introduction

Saturday, July 11, 2026

July 11, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

I am a Brown-eared Bulbul

I'm considered boisterous and loud

I am mostly grey, with darker wings,

And my ear coverts are chestnut brown.

(Hence, the name.)

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/brebul1/cur/introduction

Friday, July 10, 2026

July 10, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. Today we continue to feature the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

This tree is Ginkgo Biloba

It can grow to be 100 feet tall

You will mostly find male trees in nurseries

Because female trees get stinky in the fall.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=c910

Thursday, July 9, 2026

July 9, 2026

Welcome to Japan Week on Dee at 8 a.m. For the next week, we will be featuring the photography of my favorite expat, Joy Handley.

We are Azure-winged Magpies

We call anything from bugs to fruit "food"

You can find us throughout east Asia

Just look for our shiny black hood.

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/azwmag2/cur/introduction

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

July 8, 2026

I am a Hispid Cotton Rat,

My range is wide and expanding

I am mostly found in grassy areas

Where I can produce many offspring.

Location: Brevard Zoo, (NOT a captive animal, just a visitor)

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

Tuesday, July 7, 2026

July 7, 2026

I am a Tawny Frogmouth

I'm captive and I live in the Brevard zoo

I'm normally found in Australia

Where I eat invertebrates and play a didgeridoo.

Location: Brevard Zoo (captive bird)

Sources: https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/tawfro1/cur/introduction

Monday, July 6, 2026

July 6, 2026

I am a Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Parasitoids find my larvae by chemicals in their feces

My larvae use their mandibles to throw their poop away

As do other Swallowtail Butterfly species.

Location: Oregon, Ohio

Sources: https://ask.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/IN906

Sunday, July 5, 2026

July 5, 2026

I am a female Brown-headed Cowbird

I leave my eggs in other birds nests

I'll kick out the other birds eggs if there's not room for mine

As a mom, I am not really the best.

Location: Curtice, OH

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Brown-headed_Cowbird/overview

Saturday, July 4, 2026

July 4, 2026

I am a Savanna Sparrow

As mothers go, I am the best

I gather food - up to 10x my weight

Every day till my kids leave the nest.

Location: Curtice, OH

Sources: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Savannah_Sparrow/

Friday, July 3, 2026

July 3, 2026

I am known as a Killdeer

I like to hangout ion sandbars or mudflats

But you'll also see me in lawns or driveways

- Pretty much anywhere there's water or grass.

Location: Location: Curtice, OH

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

Thursday, July 2, 2026

July 2, 2026

I am known as an Eastern Parson Spider,

Because the mark on my abdomen looks like

A cravat worn by 19th century parsons

But unlike them, I don't give spiritual advice.

Location: Private residence, Warne, NC

Sources: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/2041

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

July 1, 2026

I am a Black-collared Click Beetle

I like to live under bark

My body is copper colored and tapered

And my head is more reounded and dark.

Location: Maumee Bay State Park, Oregon, OH

Sources: https://www.bugguide.net/node/view/17644