IUCN Conservation Status: Data Deficient It’s not until you get close to them that you realize their beautiful coloration and texture. This wild looking creature is called a gypsy moth caterpillar. Along the length of its body there are five sets of blue dots, and six sets of red dots. Along the side are orange dots. The yellow […]
IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern These lizards are invasive to the southern United States, Hawaii, California, Mexico, and Taiwan As the name implies, this lizard is native to Cuba, and not Florida where this photo was taken. More specifically, this photo was taken in Everglades National Park. The Cuban brown anole is a highly invasive lizard species […]
IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern That’s as many alligators as there are people in Miami and Tampa combined! Possibly the best animal to convey our gallery theme of “Textures”, this is the American alligator. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission believe there to be ~1.3 million individuals in the state. That’s as many alligators as there are […]
IUCN Conservation Status: Data Deficient This little purple spotted sea goddess measures in at about an inch This wild creature is a species of nudibranch called a “purple spotted sea goddess”. These ornate sea slugs are rarely seen by divers. This little guy measures in at about an inch. This particular species of nudibranch is only known to […]
IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern In my time exploring the kelp forests of the Channel Islands, I saw sharks, snails, seals, nudibranchs, and many fish species. This interesting fish is appropriately named the “crevice kelpfish”. I took this photograph in the Channel Islands, amongst the kelp forests it is named for. Where are the Channel Islands? The Channel […]
IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern Not only are the kelp forests protection for the garibaldi, they are also a source of food. This fish is named after a 19th century Italian leader, Giuseppe Garibaldi. Why? Garibaldi took up a fashion for wearing orange/red shirts. Later this orange/red shirt became his army’s uniform. This vibrant colored fish was photographed at […]
Fakahatchee Strand Fakahatchee Strand is known for its incredible biodiversity Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park is a swamp forest in southern Florida. The park runs north to south and the dimensions are roughly 20 miles long by 5 miles wide. It is a part of the Everglades hydrologic system. These waters eventually drain to the Ten Thousand Islands, […]
Redspotted Hawkfish – IUCN Conservation Status: Least Concern These fish can be very shy This is the only species of hawkfish we have in the Atlantic basin! This 2”-3” reef dwelling fish was common to see where I used to live, in the Florida Keys. However, this fish was also a challenging one to get a photo […]
Orb Weaver – IUCN Conservations Status: Varies The orb weaver bounced around in the breeze I love macro photography, but to do macro photography, the photographer must get close to their subject, ideally just a few inches from the front of the lens. When your subject is static and safe, like say a flower, no big […]
Common Eastern Bumblebee – IUCN Conservations Status: Least Concern As they fly from flower to flower, the bumblebee collects pollen between the its hairs This might be the most common bee to see if you are an east coaster. The common eastern bumblebee is found across the eastern US, southern Canada, and the Great Plains. Their fuzzy […]