Book Review: Beetles of Eastern North America

Beetles of Eastern North America by Arthur Evans is a must read for any aspiring entomologist or naturalist.  I am proud to have this valuable resource and some of the photos are just works of art. The first 55 pages of this book is a wonderful primer to all-things beetle ranging from behavioral information to ways to breed beetles in captivity.  This whopping 500+ page book is not a field guide that you will take on your next hike but it's a wonderful book to use later when you've snagged a few photos of that interesting beetle encounter.

Each species description includes detailed size dimensions and distinguishing features.  The last sentence of each description also includes range information but I'm a visual person and would have loved a range map instead of text but it's a small critique to such a beautiful book

This review copy was provided by Princeton University Press.

Ginnie Springs Camping

Ginnie Springs Campground may be one of the most fun in Florida but also the loudest.  We arrived for our camping trip around midnight and by the sound of it, the party had just started.  We found a campsite in the Beaver Landing area and set up our tents.  After the humidity soaked us through we walked down to the springs for a little night dip.  Ginnie Springs is also the only spring that I know of that actually keeps a lights on at night for swimming.  This is one of those private, anything goes kind of places.

For the next two days we enjoyed swimming, floating down the river, and hanging by the campsite.  The mosquitoes weren't too bad and the heat of the day was spent in the cool 70 degree waters to cool us down.  If you're looking for a camping destination in summer while in Florida, I believe the only place that is bearable are the springs.

Even with the large crowds were found bits of natural encounters.  Damselflies of all kinds would ride the rafts with us down river.  And the snorkeling is easy in these clear waters.  We saw bass, catfish, and sunfish of all kinds.  We also woke up each morning to a cacophany of bird calls from the Fish Crows roosting above our campsite. 

I highly recommend a trip to Ginnie Springs, even if its just a day trip.  Floating down the Santa Fe River is so relaxing and then swimming in one of the parks six springs is also a nice way to unwind from a hard work week.  I will definitely be returning to this little piece of Florida heaven.  Maybe next time I'll try on a less busy weekend.

From the science symposium

Bees! One day will have my own hives and honey production. This one was set up at the Palm Beach County science symposium.

White Peacocks

It's the time of year when few bird species are seen. The cardinals and blue jays are hiding in the understory. It's the time of year for butterflies and dragonfiles. I love walking about the wetlands at Green Cay soaking in the flying insects. White Peacocks, Anartia jatrophae, especially seem to be on every plant and twig. This tropical brushfoot butterfly is common in Florida and can be seen all year long. But to me, summer is the time of butterflies. White Peacocks are certainly most plentiful this time of year. Enjoy a few shots I took out on our grassy berm at Green Cay.

Two Butterflies, Two Parks, One Plant

The Common Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis, is poisonous to humans but it absolutely ushers in the butterflies to sip from it's pin cushion flower head. This plant of the Madder family grows across the United States but in my encounters it's always near some swampy land or river. Recently while in Riverbend Park and Blue Spring State Park, I saw Common Buttonbushes growing on the riverbanks. And both of the plant had butterflies, though of different species.

The butterfly I saw at Riverbend was a Palamedes Swallowtail, Papilio palamedes. This large swallow tail is one of the largest butterflies in the United States. The only swallowtail that rivals it in size it's the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio gaucus. Below is a few shots of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail seen form the headwaters of Blue Springs.

Swallowtails are relatives to the Birdwings, the largest butterflies in the world. Not all swallowtails have "tails" but most of them do have them. Both of these large butterflies were easy to see and I followed them way into the distance. Summer may be slow when it comes to birding but at least I have the butterflies.

Summer Bees

Red-bellied Woodpeckers built the cavity above in a Cabbage Palm. A couple of weeks later a pair of European Starlings attacked the nest and built their own nest inside. At least one starling young survived. Flash forward to a year later and you will see that a new occupant has taken over, or I should say a few new occupants. This cavity is now a thriving European Honeybee nest. Everything has been going well until two weeks ago I noticed some swarming behavior. And then I saw the evidence of a swarm below.

It seems that the bees have taken residence in BOTH of our new nest boxes. Due to the boxes being so close to the boardwalk we will have to evict the new occupants. We will be leaving the palm hive to thrive and grow. I just hope this doesn't become a reoccuring problem. I hate to have to disturb such beautiful animals.

**UPDATE** The hive on the half mile trail is far enough away from the boardwalk that we are choosing to leave it. Now Green Cay is home to two happy hives.

Bees in the Box

Photo taken by Bill Kominksy, used with permission.

Some of you may remember the Eastern Screech-Owl that I reported back in February. Well the owls have been absent for the past week and a half and yesterday I noticed bees swarming around the entrance. That could only mean that the nest was abandoned and that a hive must be inside. So today we trekked out to the island with a ladder and took the front of the box off to discover this:



A nice size European Honeybee hive is found inside. We know it's not the Africanized Bees due to the lack of aggression during this removal process. Despite the bees friendly behavior we are calling in the experts to come and help us remove the hive. They should be here today or tomorrow. It's too bad the owls didn't successfully nest this year. I hope that they come back. Does anyone know the likelihood that they will return?

What big eyes you have

A few months ago one of our Green Cay volunteers brought in an Io Moth caterpillar (Automeris io). We put it on display in the nature center and slowly the caterpillar grew until one day we found it in it's papery thin cocoon.

We figured that the moth was going to overwinter but last week it decided to emerge. Io moths are sexually dimorphic with the females having reddish brown forewings, body, and legs and the males having bright yellow forewings, body, and legs. Both have one big black to bluish eyespot with some white in the center, on each hindwing, a defense mechanism meant to frighten off potential predators. Our moth was a female and boy was she a beauty to behold!

In the afternoon I took her outside for releasing and she wasted no time warming up her wings and preparing for flight. After about 10 minutes of quickly undulating her wings up and down, she took a short flight into a patch of dense Milkweed. She was still there when I left work; I hope she found safety there from all the birds flying about.

If she's lucky she'll find a mate, lay some eggs, and then wait to die. Io moths emerge in the adult form with vestigal mouthparts. So after reproducing their life is over. I'm glad that I had the opportunity to spend a few weeks with this moth and get to know her.

Lep out of Summer and into Fall

The first day of autumn came yesterday and I have noticed a few things changing like some plants are dying back, the birds are migrating through, and you can walk outside at night and not feel like it's at a 100% humidity. Still, in the morning the temperature hovers around 80 degrees and if you weren't in tune with the small changes you may believe its still summertime. One thing is for sure, the butterflies and skippers are having a party right now in this warm weather.

Over the summer when the birding was low I decided to take an interest in the Lepidoptera order. Now that migration is in full swing they have been sent to the back burner. Of course during the middle of the day when the birds are hot and hiding I go back to the Leps and start taking photos for identification later. For whatever reason, I haven't found the patience to ID them in the field. It's so much easier to snap a few quick photos and write down a few observations and then thumb through the field guide in the luxury of the air conditioning.

This past week I've had three new lifer Leps to add to the list. One of my favorites was this Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus). The best ID clue for this species for me was the arrangement of white spots on the wings. Also the range maps provided by Kaufman's field guide pointed to this being the most likely candidate. In South Florida they can have four to five broods a year. This skipper feeds on mallows as a caterpillar and the adults are often seen in pastures, brushy fields, or roadsides. I caught this one in the grassy drainage area of Green Cay which also harbors many other Leps. Usually I'm not that into skippers but this one rivals in butterfly I've seen.

Daggerwing at Green Cay

The Ruddy Daggerwing (Marpesia petreus) is a fairly common butterfly in South Florida. Just a few weeks ago I saw dozens upon dozens at Castellow Hammock Nature Center. Green Cay may not have them in those kind of numbers but they are certainly present, especially on the Chickee Island. A few weeks back I managed to find one resting on the boardwalk that allowed me to take a few photos.

The unique wing shape and bright orange color make it easy to identify. Of course if the hindwing tails are missing it could be confused with a Julia Heliconian. The Ruddy Daggerwing is the only daggerwing that occurs regularly in the United States. This group of brushfoot butterflies are known for their daggerlike extensions and their fast flight. The caterpillar stage hosts on ficas trees (fig trees) and the adults in Florida favor Milkweed. With their wings closed they look just like a dead leaf but once they open up you see those three black lines running across the orange. This butterfly flies year around in Florida so if you're visiting or live in the area, keep your open for them.

Exploring Crooked River State Park

Check out that skull collection! I was very impressed when I walked into Crooked River State Park's Nature Center last week. My friend Hewy is a naturalist there and she had the place looking the best I've ever seen it. Crooked River S.P. is a great one-stop shop if you're traveling through I-95 in Georgia. They have nice trails, a bird viewing station, a cozy campground, and an interesting nature center.

A while back the park staff found this exotic African Spur Tortoise on site. It appears that the owner must have released it. Exotic releases in state and national parks is certainly a big problem around the country. We had a lady pay a young boy to drop off her Red-eared Slider into our turtle tank a few months back at Green Cay. This turtle was HUGE and he just dumped it in on the sly. For those that don't know, Florida has some new rules concerning the common "dime store" turtle. It's illegal to buy them in the state and because they interbreed with Florida’s native Yellow-bellied Sliders they shouldn't be released into the wild.

Another really cool thing at Crooked River S.P. was the bee hive. A local beekeep installed this hive for educational purposes in June. You can see that the hive is kept inside while a pvc pipe is leading outside for the bees to travel through. I have a fascination with beekeeping, and maybe one day I'll have to give it a try. Of course that won't be anytime soon considering I live in a small studio apartment in the middle of a busy downtown.

Next time you're in South Georgia think about making a detour and exploring one of Georgia's finest state parks. I promise that a walk through the pine flatlands or a stroll along the river will be just the thing to cheer you up or help stretch those legs from the long haul on the interstate. And don't forget to stop by the nature center and visit my friend.

Wordless Wednesday: Sounds of Summer

Cicada, SC Farm, September 1, 2008