August 31, 2022

I am an Eastern Lubber Grasshopper 

I'm only in my second instar

I don't have wings yet, but they are starting to form

But I'm still too young to go drinking in bars.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/lubber.htm

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 30, 2022

I am a Pink-spotted Hawkmoth

I like to get nectar from Morning Glory

As a caterpillar I liked to eat sweet potato

I'm not a pest, and I'm sticking to my story.

(But alas, Sweet Potato farmers disagree and call the caterpillars pests.)

Special thanks to guest photographer, Heather Stapleton.

Location: Vero Beach, Private Residence

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Agrius-cingulata

Photo © 2022 Heather Stapleton and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 29, 2022

We are Ghost Bulimulus

We are exotics and are invasive

There are lots of us, and we are everywhere

But in a wasp nest? Now that is creative!

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Science/Technique-Development

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 28, 2022

This is a species of Liatris

Also called Blazing Star

It grows naturally in most states east of the Rockies

And prefers dry habitat - flooded areas are sub-par

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/nassauco/2017/06/05/fact-sheet-liatris/

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 27, 2022

I am a Leptofreya ambigua

In Florida, I am not native

I came (or was brought) here from South America

I'm tiny and fast and somewhat evasive. 

(Note: To get a feel for how tiny this guy was, that is my wrist he is on, and those are the holes in my Fitbit wrist band in the first photo. In the second photo, he had crawled off my wrist into a tiny crack in a fence post.)

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Fellsmere

Sources: http://www.rkwalton.com/salticids/Leptofreya_ambigua.php

Photo and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 26, 2022

I am a Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth

My name pretty much says everything

I feed on roses, and as my name discloses

Petting me would not be a wise thing

Even my aposematic colors warn you

My spines contain poison that will give you a sting.

Special thanks to guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: Private residence, Warne, NC

Sources: https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/aposematic%20coloration

https://arthropod.uark.edu/stinging-rose-caterpillar/

Photo © 2022 David Simpson and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

August 25, 2022

I am known as a Northern Bobwhite

2.5 million year old fossils of me exist

The cavemen would have to use a stone tablet and chisel

To add me to their birding life list!

Special thanks to guest photographer, David Simpson.

Location: ⁨Las Cienegas National Conservation Area⁩, ⁨Elgin⁩, AZ

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

Photo © 2022 David Simpson and text © 2022 Dee Fairbanks Simpson