June 30, 2023

I am a Great Southern White butterfly

Ascia is my family name

My family is monotypic which means

No other species family name is the same.

Location: Oyster Bar Marsh Conservation Area, Vero Beach

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 29, 2023

I am a Efferia femorata - 

A type of Robberfly

I have a voracious appetite

And I'm a pollinator-eating type of guy

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park, Visitor's Center

Sources: https://www.geller-grimm.de/general.htm

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 28, 2023

I'm known as a Grapevine Beetle

You can find me wherever grapes grow

I eat and and live in decaying tree stumps,

Down in the roots, how low I can go!

Location: My house, Fellsmere

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 27, 2023

I am a mom Wild Turkey

Looking for snacks with my baby
Like many bird mums, 

I'll feed him protein-packed bugs 

To make him grow strong just like me.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

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

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 26, 2023

I am an adult male Regal Jumping Spider

My body parts grow at different rates

Like humans, I have allometric growth

Thus I have disproportionately long front legs.

Location: St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park

Sources: https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/regal_jumping_spider.htm

https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-allometric-and-isometric-growth/

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 25, 2023

I am a White Checkered-Skipper

You can find me in the southern U.S.

When I was a caterpillar I ate plants in the Mallow Family

Now I like nectar the best!

Location: Jones Pier Conservation Area, Jungle Trail

Sources: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Pyrgus-albescens

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

June 24, 2023

I am an Ichneumonid Wasp

You might mistake me for a Crane Fly

But that would be a mistake, 

For your progeny's sake -

Butterflies, watch where you leave your larvae!

Location: My house, Fellsmere

Sources: http://bugeric.blogspot.com/2012/05/wasp-wednesday-netelia.html

Photo and text © 2023 Dee Fairbanks Simpson