Bumble bees
Bumble bees are very efficient pollinators because they “buzz pollinate.” The bee grabs onto a flower and vibrates its flight muscles but not its wings. This causes the flower to release its pollen.
Chimney bees
Chimney bees like the Mustached mud and Hibiscus bees are solitary ground nesters that have serious architectural talent! Both bees superficially resemble bumblebees in appearance.
Tachinid flies
With over 1,300 species in North America alone, Tachinid flies are an extremely diverse group, yet they are often overlooked. Once you spot one, however, you’re likely to start recognizing them everywhere.
Student spotlight: Gabriel Campbell-Martinez
Gabriel Campbell-Martinez is a graduate research assistant at the UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center in Milton, Florida, and the 2019 recipient of a graduate assistantship from the Gary Henry Endowment for the Study of Florida Native Wildflowers.
Queen butterfly
In the same genus as Monarchs, Queen butterflies share many characteristics with their royal cousins. Queens and Monarchs are similar in appearance, rely on milkweed as a host plant and carry a toxin from milkweed in their bodies into adulthood.
Milkweed plants for Monarchs installed at retention basin
Almost 300 native milkweed and nectar-providing plants were installed along a highway retention basin on Alt. U.S. Highway 27 near Chiefland Tuesday.
False garlic
False garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve) is a grasslike perennial with lovely star-shaped flowers. It typically blooms late winter through spring, but may bloom again in or continue blooming into fall. The unscented flowers attract a variety of pollinators, including small butterflies and native bees. The plant occurs naturally in moist woodlands and grasslands and along roadsides in North and Central Florida.
Great purple hairstreak
The Great purple hairstreak is a relatively large butterfly that can often be found in oak hammocks. Oddly, Great purple hairstreaks can be identified by the iridescent blue, not purple, on the upper side of their wings.