July 14, 2023

We are all Cuban Tree Frogs

We are a nonindigenous aquatic species

You can find us almost everywhere in Florida

You can ID us by our huge-toe-padded feetsies.

Location: St. Sebastian Preserve State Park Cracker Camp

Sources: https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=57

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 13, 2023

This plant's known as Virgina Creeper

Throughout Florida's where it can be found

It climbs on trees, trellises and buildings,

Its name is not as lascivious as it sounds.

Location: Oyster Bar Marsh Conservation Area, Vero Beach

Sources: https://www.fnps.org/plant/parthenocissus-quinquefolia

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 12, 2023

I am a Schistocerca serialis ssp. cubense

I'm just a grasshopper nymph right now

I'll grow wings when I become an adult

Hemimetabolous metamorphosis is how.

Location: Oyster Bar Marsh Conservation Area, Vero Beach

Sources: https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-holometabolous-and-vs-hemimetabolous-metamorphosis-in-insects/

https://bugguide.net/node/view/2032037

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 11, 2023

I am a spider in the family Thomisidae

My front sets of legs are larger than the back

My laterigrade legs make me look like a crab

And it's insects, not people I attack.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://bugguide.net/node/view/1957

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 10, 2023

This is a plant known as Coral Bean

Hummingbirds like it's nectar

But it's seeds are toxic to humans

Don't eat them lest you be left a specter.

Location: Jones Pier Conservation Area, Jungle Trail

Sources: https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=erhe4

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 9, 2023

I am a Mangrove Tree Crab

I live in mangrove roots in the supralittoral zone

That means the roots are splashed but not submerged

Which is also how I wear my cologne.

Location: Jones Pier Conservation Area, Jungle Trail

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

https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Aratus%20pisonii%20-%20Mangrove%20Tree-climbing%20Crab.pdf

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

July 8, 2023

This is the nymphal skeleton of a Cicada

It went through its 5th molt and left the shell here

It went to live in trees for a few weeks

After living underground for about 4 years. 

Location: Jones Pier Conservation Area, Jungle Trail

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bugs/cicadas.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson