A faded rosy maple moth hanging out on the Daytona State College Deland campus, back in 2007 and when it was known as DBCC.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Either Genus Clubiona or Hibana, photographed in Lake county, Florida (25 June 2007). http://dusttracks.com.
Larinioides cornutus, the Furrow orbweaver, photographed in Lake county, Florida (25 June 2007). http://dusttracks.com.
The spider's web was under a gazebo not far from the shore of Lake Dora in Mt. Dora, Florida (Lake county, central Florida).
Heteropoda species, photographed in Lake county, Florida (25 June 2007). http://dusttracks.com.
I lean toward Heteropoda venatoria, but can't confirm that.
Heteropoda species, photographed in Lake county, Florida (25 June 2007). http://dusttracks.com.
I lean towards Heteropoda venatoria, but can't confirm that.
UPDATE: Thanks to Anita363 for pegging down the identification of this little Key West traveler! RAH!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
An Anisota hanging out at the Daytona State College campus in Deland, Florida. This could possibly be Anisota senatoria, but A. virginiensis seems far more abundant in this range. Confirmation or correction would be appreciated!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Kudos to megatherium for helping identify this one! Photographed in Sanford, Florida, just south of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Looking at photographs on the web, I want to say this is a scarlet skimmer, but in Florida it looks like this is a bit far north for them. Just not sure. Any ideas, odonata masters of the universe?
Update: thanks to megatherium for confirming this is, in fact a scarlet skimmer! Much appreciated!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Coming out of class one night at Daytona State College, I spotted this rather divine achemon sphinx hanging out in the outdoor hallway. Beautiful. One of many reasons I always bring a camera with me whenever I teach. You never know what's waiting just outside.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
The eastern pondhawk is another seemingly-abundant odonata of central Florida. I'd see them often around the Daytona State College campus in Deland (and elsewhere).
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
The blue dasher, one of central Florida's seemingly-most-common odonatas.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
A four-spotted pennant near the edge of a maintained pond just south of Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River in Seminole county, Florida.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
This is a giant water bug, Lethocerus americanus. We had a decent number of these show up from time to time in Sanford, Florida. Giant and foreboding!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Yup. We've got peacocks running around central Florida. Hell, they're everywhere now, all across the state. I've seen them in the Lake county countryside. I've seen them running through apartment complexes in downtown Orlando. I've seen them foraging around parking lots in Debary. In Miami, they're... yeah, everywhere.
Peafowl, baby. Bringing it on with full-on gaudiness and attitude.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
American white pelicans can be found at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge during the winter and spring months. I've seen a ton of them in the Peacocks Pocket area of the refuge, down toward Brock Creek.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Alright, consider this one a challenge. The bird: swimming in the shallows just east of Garden Key in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. This was February 10th of 2007, still classified as "winter" by national park services. The beak is slightly upturned, but the photo is rather grainy and doesn't reveal finer details with great clarity. For example, I can't quite tell if there's a tiny hook at the end of the beak or not... It looks like there may be and I seem to remember one, but I'm not sure I trust the low resolution and the fading memory of a not-so-young-anymore dude.
So, take a look and see if you can figure it out! Consider it a triple-dog-dare challenge (with much appreciation from my end)! The bird, as best I could tell, was swimming solo. I don't remember seeing others nearby. To start off the impossible challenge, I'll wager a bet that this is, in fact, a member of Class Aves. heh.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
I've got two lead candidates for this one: the hairy woodpecker (Picoides villosus) and the downy woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). Of the two, I'm leaning toward the downy woodpecker for two reasons: this was a diminutive woodpecker and its beak seemed relatively short. From what I've seen, hairy woodpeckers are a little bigger and it seems like their beaks are a little more elongate (judging by photos accompanying descriptions). So, I throw it to you, iNaturalist Folk! What say you? Downy? or Hairy?
Update: I'm tentatively tagging this as a hairy woodpecker, though I concede a definitive identification is pretty much impossible from where I sit.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
This observation threw me for a curve. After looking a bit at birding information for Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, I learned that northern shovelers do come to this area during the winter. A rather magnificent waterfowl.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
A group of Northern pintails cruises near Boggy Pond in Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in central Florida.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Also known as the five-spotted sphinx moth, this behemoth of beauty was seen hiking around east Norman, Oklahoma. An incredibly large, beautiful, and striking moth. Just gorgeous.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
An awesome Neoscona found at lakeside Mt. Dora, Florida. I find these cross spiders to be remarkably awesome. Very, very cool.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
This is a gecko I (briefly) spotted at Bahia Honda State Park in the Florida Keys. It was on a tree near a short hiking path and was observed/photographed at 9:13 a.m. Unfortunately I only managed to snag one quick (and blurry) photograph before the gecko vanished into the bush. Any ideas of species? Given the ecological free-for-all that is south Florida, anything goes... heh.
UPDATE on 11 January 2012:
Alan Cressler has a photograph of a nearly-identical gecko from Bahia Honda. He identifies his as Hemidactylus mabouia. Given his extensive knowledge-base and experience, I trust his judgment and am piggy-backing my id with his. Visit Cressler's photostream here: http://www.flickr.com/people/alan_cressler/.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
A young rough green snake caught by my old friend, Erin. Though I've seen many of these snakes in the wild, I've had a devil of a time getting decent photographs. Slinky little buggers, they are.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
I sure wish I'd gotten a better photograph of this one... The plains leopard frog. I used to see tons of these when I was a kid living in Oklahoma (1985-1987), but didn't see many on this return trip (or other more-recent trips). What few I *have* seen have been a little less than cooperative for my camera. Alas, so it goes with the nervous plains leopard frog!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Anaxyrus americanus charlesmithi is a much smaller subspecies of the American toad -- hence the clever common name "Dwarf American Toad." This subspecies is quite common in Norman, Oklahoma. I've seen many individuals in the Canadian River basin that runs south of town.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
The Cuban treefrog is non-native to Florida, but has firmly established itself throughout much of the peninsula. In Sanford (a bit north of Orlando), I observed innumerable Cuban treefrogs just south of Lake Monroe. The presence (and success) of the Cuban treefrog spells danger for competing, native species. Cuban treefrogs are voracious in appetite -- and quite massive. The individual photographed here was a small, young adult.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Ah, the joyful laughing gull. If ever there was an animal deserving of its common name, it was the laughing gull. Because, yes, they laugh at you. Mercilessly.
~ janson jones,
http://dusttracks.com
Roseate spoonbills are commonly seen at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in central Florida. They are also (amazingly) often confused with Caribbean flamingos...!
~ janson jones,
http://dusttrack.com
