This common and distinctive turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) carries the dubious distinction of being the most popular pet turtle in the US, and the most traded turtle in the world. Red-eared sliders are native to the southern US, but have popped up pretty much everywhere — Australia, Europe, South Africa, the Carribbean, Israel, Asia, and…
Author: Long Leggedy Beasties
Belfrage’s Plume Moth
Plume moths (family Pterophoridae, which includes several genera) share this striking resting position, where the forewings are extended laterally and tightly closed up. (Open, the forewings have several bedraggled, feathery bristles beneath.) Various Pterophorids are pests of crops like artichokes and of ornamental plants; some are used for biological control of invasive plant species. These…
Florida Giant Katydid
I love insects with definitive identifications. When I type “big green katydid” into Google, this bad boy pops right up (along with suggestions that I search for “Florida giant grasshopper”, “Florida giant centipede”, and “Florida giant mosquito”, making me wonder why I moved to this state). And it’s exactly like it says on the tin…
Asian Tramp Snail
Another of Florida’s fine examples of invasive, destructive wildlife, this petite (13mm) snail originated in Southeast Asia but has spread to many additional places, including Taiwan, the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, and Eastern Australia. It eats live plants, especially growing vegetables or crops, making them a pest for gardeners and farmers. Asian tramp snails are…
Unidentified – Spiders
Do you know these spiders? Please help 🙂 These photos are too good not to share, but I have no idea who’s in them!
Graceful Twig Ant
I’d been sitting on the above photo for a while, because the insect in it was winged; I seriously thought it was a wasp, but couldn’t find an exact match for species no matter how hard I tried. There was always something just not quite right. A couple days later, I was looking up some…
Rugosana Querci
Another no-common-name, no description on Wikipedia, nothing beyond “It’s a leafhopper”. I understand the problems involved with trying to do field research on an animal 1/4″ long, but it just seems sad that just about all I can say about this striking little insect is “It’s a leafhopper”. Bugguide.net tells me it’s probably a second…
Hawaiian Dancing Moth
This molecular moth was only about 3mm long. I wouldn’t have even known it was alive if it hadn’t actually flown up and perched right in front of my camera. I managed two shots, wondering what on earth it was, before it flew off. Just sitting on a surface, it looks like a tiny fleck…
Florida Softshell Turtle
The Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) is found all over the Florida peninsula, as well as into neighboring states. It lives in both freshwater and brackish environments, preferring slow-moving or still water. Instead of the hard, scuted shell of other turtles, the softshell has a cartilaginous carapace covered in tough skin. Color ranges from olive…
Mango Seed Weevil
A mysterious, 3mm sphere stuck to my front door turned out to be a mango seed weevil, Sternochetus mangiferae. I’m afraid I had to bother him to figure out what he was — his distinctive, weevil-ular “snout” is hidden under his body, making him difficult to identify. Apparently that’s standard for his subfamily, Cryptorhynchinae, the…
Longlegged Fly
Technically, “longlegged fly” describes the family, not this individual species, but that’s the common name for Condylostylus longicornis. This small, iridescent green fly with red eyes is tiny — about 5mm (I need a better measurement, I describe everything as 5mm) — and fast! This individual really, really wanted to sit on that plant, but…
June Bug / May Beetle
Technically, this is neither a June bug nor a May beetle as I found this individual in April. It is not a true bug; it is instead a scarab beetle, Phyllophaga sp. Alas, further identification would require me becoming very personal with this little guy, and, as always, I prefer not to damage my photo…
Omolicna Joi
The identification here makes me nervous, since Omolicna joi was only recently discovered (2014) and the pattern on the wings on this little dude/ette really reminds me of the much more common citrus flatid planthopper, Metcalfa pruinosa. I always try to assume that I’ve found the more common/boring species, because who the hell am I…
Palpada Pusilla
Another fly with no common name. Do I make a “hoverfly” page which will eventually have 6,000+ photos in it, or a separate page for each species of hoverfly? Decisions, decisions. Meet Palpada pusilla, a fly in the family Syrphidae. Syrphid flies, (or flower flies, or hoverflies), are generally beneficial pollinators as adults, eating primarily…
Atamasco Rain Lily
It’s so rare that I find an actual native species, I get excited about it, even if it’s “just” a flower! This single, lone Atamasco rain-lily (Zephyranthes atamasca) was all by itself in the lawn of a small park on Easter Sunday, 2020, during the coronavirus panic. A little sign that, despite everything, life goes…