Eastern Yellow Jacket

And the food chain...

Eastern yellow jacket eating an insect larva...







Eating a dead baby bird...



Being eaten by a Green Lynx Spider




I took the first three photographs this morning, keeping in mind the warning I read in the National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida regarding yellow jackets:

"Stings repeatedly if bothered."

I kept my distance.

Caesar's Weed

Caesar's Weed
Urena lobata

St. Peter's Wort

St. Peter's Wort
Hypericum tetrapetalum
Syn: Ascyrum tetrapetalum

Flowers throughout Florida year-round in damp, sandy soils.
May grow to 3 ft. tall.

Robber Fly

Family Asilidae: Robber Fly

Creeping Oxeye - Yellow

CREEPING OXEYE
Wedelia trilobata

Click on photo above for a yellow wildflower slide show

Stinging Nettle - Tread Softly

Stinging Nettle
Cnidoscolus stimulosus

White Peacock Butterfly

White Peacock
Anartia jatrophae



More White Peacock photos here and here.

Bee Fly, Part III

I promise imagine that this will be my last bee fly post, but my fascination with this tiny insect drew me back out to the field where spermacoce prostrata - a false buttonweed that I think looks like a tiny wedding bouquet - grows in abundance and I first discovered the bee fly.

Bee Fly, Part II

I was fascinated by my bee fly discovery, so as soon as I could grab my camera late this afternoon and head out to the field nearest the road where I had found the bee fly on Saturday, I did, and I was not disappointed. I'm still not satisfied that I've captured the best photos, but at least it is a bit more than what I had posted before.

Bee Fly

Bee Fly (Bombylius major)
Family: Bombyliidae

More Photos Here

The Moon

Esmeralda Longtail Butterfly

(Photographs updated 07-18-07)

Esmeralda Longtail Butterfly
Urbanus esmeraldus

Fiery Skipper

Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus

Delta Flower Scarab Beetle

(Identified and Updated 7/24/07)Order: Coleoptera (ko-lee-OP-ter-a)
Family: Scarabaeidae
Genus: Trigonopeltastes
Species: delta