Sorry for the long delay in getting another post. I have been very busy with my real estate activity.  I promise to have regular posts again showing the beauty in our community and hope residents will submit more of their own photos.

Opossum, female with baby, in our backyard

Vultures feeding in the dry pond between Eagle Ridge and Heronglen

Black snake, very common in our area and very beneficial!

It has been an extraordinary spring and summer for dragonflies.

Some of the creatures of late fall. The butterflies are getting tattered, other things are moving more slowly in the cool air, or spending more time soaking up some sun.  A great time for FishHawk residents to get out and about with their cameras!

Gulf fritillary

Cloudless sulphur butterfly, Phoebis sennae eubule

Photos submitted by resident Ed Salvadore
be sure to click on photos for a larger view

Great blue heron Ardea herodias

Red-shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus

Resident Angela Macias used her I-phone to get a pic of this golden orb spider at the Aquatic Club.

Photos submitted by resident Kenneth Llera, a photography student with a great eye!

Alafia River north of Starling

black and yellow garden spider, Argiope aurantia

Cannas

Overcast

Trails

The eastern lubber Romalea guttata has been very active in the last few weeks. May look scary and gross to some, but check out the beauty that nature has given us!

Dragonfly photos submitted by resident Jennifer Schmidt.

If you wait, they will land.

September is prime butterfly time in FishHawk Ranch.  I recently waited close to the flowering plants around the large pond between Heron Glen and Teal Rise. I spotted about 7-8 types of butterflies and here are some of the photos that resulted. So, grab your camera, a couple bottles of water and plenty of patience, it will pay off.

Gulf Fritillary  Agraulis vanillae

 Monarch  Danaus plexippus

White Peacock  Anartia jatrophae

 Not sure of this one

Rhinoceros beetle. Although fierce looking, these are harmless to humans.

Sculptured Pine Borer - Chalcophora virginiensis

This beetle is common in the area, about an 1 to 1.25 inch in length, with  bronze/metallic underside markings. The larvae of this insect feeds on live pines and can eventually kill the tree. I do not usually advocate destroying critters, but these really should be destroyed.

Millipede, Narceus americanus, found throughout the community in planter beds and wooded areas. Although they look dangerous, millipedes are not poisonous, but they do secrete a substance that can irritate the skin, if you are sensitive to it. This one was found in the conservation area behind Eagle Ridge.

More photos recently submitted by residents!

 

Diane Steinbach met up with a black and yellow argiope, Argiope aurantia, these are common throughout FishHawk Ranch.

Greg Dean got a few shots of another critter that is plentiful in the area,  the sandhill crane, Grus canadensis 

Kannan Deivasigamani submitted some recently taken macro photos. The wasp is a cicada killer,

Sphecius speciosus, which are the large wasps that dig holes at the edges of our driveways and sidewalks. They paralyze cicadas with their sting, pull them into the burrow and lay an egg on it.

Milkweed and milkweed bug found in conservation area.

Milkweed seed.  Can you see the guinea pig?

Milkweed bug  Oncopeltus fasciatus

Resident Diane Steinbach has been outdoors regularly with her camera. With all the recent moisture in the Tampa area she has noted that, "the fungus is amungus!"  Evidently the grasshoppers are among us, also. She caught a beautiful shot of an eastern lubber.

A beetle about 3/8 inch long, iridescent green and coppery color. Believe it to be the species 

 Anomala marginata, a scarab-type beetle. Found 

 throughout FishHawk.

Fun to find and watch, but probably not a very good snack!