As the atmosphere has heated up the insects and butterflies have returned despite the lack of significant rainfall. Above: A Lady Bug or Lady Bird Beetle (family Coccinellidae) on a sunflower.
Above: A Florida Leafwing Butterfly (Anaea troglodyta floridalis).
Above: Another lady bug. While they don't appear to be aggressive, Coccinellids are typically predators of Hemiptera such as aphids and scale insects, though larvae and eggs of their own species can also be important sources of food when alternative prey are scarce.
Above: A Monarch (Danaus plexippus) on lantana. Lantana is one of the few wildflowers that has continued to bloom through the Florida drought.
Above: When I see these little beetles I'm always reminded of the rhyme:
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.
Makes no sense, does it?
Above: A Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), usually found around willow species (poplar, elm, birch).
Above: A bit of Lady Bug sex an eggplant, in extreme close-up
Above: A Red-spotted Purple (Limenitis arthemis). This butterfly is a mimic of the poisonous Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) and is typically found in open woodlands or along forest edges.
Below: A couple of images of the Eight-spotted Forester (Alypia octomaculata).
The Eight-spotted Forester is a moth of the Noctuidae family. It is found in the eastern USA, Texas and Florida. It is tiny, with a wingspan of only 30-37 mm. The larvae feed on virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) which is one of our ubiquitous vines.
Above and Below: Perhaps my favorite Florida butterfly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus). Find these feeding around and on any of the Asteraceae family flowers.
Below: A female Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes).
Below: The American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis).
Below: A Hummingbird Moth (Macroglossum stellatarum).
And finally, below, another Monarch, feeding on a dandelion.
We should be seeing many more of these species as a moist tropical flow is streaming across the Florida peninsula tonight and will likely bring much-needed rainfall over the coming days. With water comes more life. Another flight of all of these species will occur once the rainfall triggers the insects' instinct to reproduce.