Summer by the animals

I love watching the seasons change. Even in FLorida where our weather doesn't change much (compared to the northern states) there are great indicators that Summer is here. Much of what I have noticed lately is the insects. The cicadas are chirping all night long, the horseflies and deerflies are out and this Lubber Grasshopper was spotted in our butterfly garden. These guys multiply by what seems like enormous numbers. The juveniles are black with either an orange or yellow strip down the middle of the back. When they morph into the adults the coloring is completely different. Despite their bright colors, they can be very hard to find amongst the vegetation out here.
The next couple shots are of a Golden Orb Weaver. Its a scary looking spider to most people, but perfectly harmless. That doesn't mean that you should pick them up. They will bite if they don't like the situation they are in. If you look closely at the photo you can see why they are called Golden Orb Weavers.... they weave golden strands into their webs. If the sun catches it just right then they light up like a laser light show.

This is the underside pictured above and the top of the spider pictured below.

One of our loyal photographers shot this photo last weekend of a coyote pup. There have been lots of sightings of these little guys as of late. There are about 6 - 8 of them, it's hard to tell because they move so fast. The adults have been seen here for about the past year, but they roam around alot and we don't see them everyday. As with all the wildlife, the sightings are varied in location and frequency. We don't have any pictures of the adults.... just this one of a beautiful pup... kit... cub. I'm not sure what they are called when they are young. Does anybody know what they are called?

Next blog post will be about the plants of summer. They are in full bloom out there. Come visit the flowers and the insects when you can, but come by in the morning.... it's getting really hot out there!