A large Carolina wolfberry shrub thrives near St. Marks’ lighthouse at the wildlife refuge. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
I was lucky enough to spend a weekend in November exploring a lovely, low-key stretch of northwest Florida. We hiked trails and took the boat tour at Wakulla Springs State Park, marveling at the numerous alligators and admiring birds and a slow-moving manatee. We also hiked through St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, which is home to a nearly 200-year-old lighthouse and keeper’s house, which have a fascinating history of their own.
The brilliant red, and edible, berry of the Carolina wolfberry is ripe in late fall/early December. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Exploring the shoreline of Apalachee Bay behind the lighthouse, we watched fiddler crabs run the salt flats and herons quietly stalk their prey. Always on the lookout for something new, I noticed a large shrub growing several yards back from the beach. It looked like a cross between a rosemary and a holly, with delicate lavender/purple flowers and brilliant red teardrop-shaped fruit. I’d never seen it before.
Map of the natural range of Carolina wolfberry in Florida. Figure courtesy of the Florida Native Plant Society.
After a quick investigation, I learned it was a Carolina wolfberry, aka Carolina deserthorn, aka Christmas berry (Lycium carolinianum). The invasive species coral ardisia (Ardisia crenata) is also known in some areas as Christmas berry—this is why scientific names are so useful—but that is not the plant we saw at St. Marks. The native Carolina wolfberry was located right where you might expect it, on dry coastal scrub, in view of the saltwater it easily tolerates. Its native range in Florida starts along the coastline east of here, particularly Bay and Wakulla counties and all the way down around the state.
The delicate lavender flower of the Carolina wolfberry is a popular nectar source for native butterflies. Photo credit: Peggy Romfh
The tall shrub is evergreen, with leaves adapted into a long, thin, slightly succulent near-needle shape. This leaf form helps hold water in a dry, salty environment and prevents evaporation. The tips of the shrub’s branches have thorns, hence the common name “desert-thorn.” Carolina wolfberry produces those attractive little purple blooms in the fall, providing nectar for several species of native butterflies. In late fall/early winter, the brilliant red fruits show up. They are less than an inch long and reminiscent of peppers. When ripe, the fruit are edible and are described as sweet and tomato-like. The fruit are not only popular for human consumption, but also for birds, deer, and raccoons. Just before we walked down the beach, another visitor saw a bobcat disappear into the shrub, which provides cover for many additional species besides those who eat it directly.
Illustration from a 15th century plant medicine book showing the mandrake, a member of the Solanaceae family.
Carolina wolfberry is a member of the Solanaceae family, aka nightshade (sometimes referred to as “deadly nightshade”). Other relatives include edible tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant, and groundcherry. The “deadly” part refers to related species like belladonna and mandrake, from which toxic poisons can be extracted. If you’re looking for a fascinating historical deep dive into these plants’ connection to witches, Shakespeare, and the death of multiple Roman emperors, look no further than the US Forest Service’s web page on the “Powerful Solanaceae” family!
Doodlebugs create pitfall traps in dry, sandy areas to lure unsuspecting ants. Their “doodles” in the sand are visible as well. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
It’s been years since I ran across doodlebugs. But when I saw a stretch of their pitfall traps at a campsite near Coldwater Creek in MIlton, I knew it was time to write about them. Lore says their silly name came from Southern kids like me, who watched the larvae drag their bodies around in the sand, leaving patterns (or doodles) etched behind them. These insects have long fascinated children and creative writers, with some of my favorite authors–Twain, Steinbeck, Thoreau–referencing doodlebugs in their books.
Doodlebug larvae are pretty terrifying, with those giant killer mandibles. Photo credit: UF IFAS
Doodlebugs, aka ant lions (Myrmeleon immaculatus—although we have 22 species in Florida!), are fascinating little insects that prey upon ants by creating slippery funnels in the sand. They wait underground below the funnel opening as unsuspecting ants march along the surface and slide down in the ensuing “mini avalanche.” If an ant or other prey item manages to get away, the ant lion can sling sand at it to try and knock it back down into the pit. Doodlebug larvae are the stuff of cartoon nightmares. They possess a pair of giant clawed mandibles, capable of grabbing and injecting prey with a toxin. The poison paralyzes the victim and contains digestive fluids which liquify its insides. At this point, the ant lion goes in for the kill by sucking out the prey’s juices through its deadly mandibles.
An adult doodlebug/ant lion bears no resemblance to its larval stage! Photo credit: Campbell Vaughn, UGA
Ant lions may stay in this frightening larval stage for up to 3 years. After this they undergo metamorphosis, spending 3 weeks in a cocoon. As adults, their transformation is dramatic; they are closely related to lacewings and dobsonflies, with long, thin bodies and large translucent wings.
A doodlebug captures its prey. Photo credit: UF IFAS
As kids, we always found doodlebugs under my best friend’s treehouse. In Milton, they were in a sandy area beneath a cabin roof overhang. These dry, protected sand areas are their preferred habitat and the best place to find them. We used to stick pine needles down into the openings, and watch as a flutter of insect mouthparts tried to grab it from us. Because of their fascinating life cycle and dramatic hunting technique, doodlebugs can be a captivating addition to a science classroom. In fact, there’s a reference to doodlebugs on the NASA website, due to an Apollo 16 astronaut’s mention of them. When landing on the moon, the craters reminded Charlie Duke of doodlebug pits, prompting him to recite an old children’s rhyme, “Doodlebug, doodlebug, are you at home?”
The ornate passionflower attracts human and insect attention, alike. Photo credit: Mike Clark
There are some things in nature that look so bizarre, so beautiful, or so ornate that one can scarcely believe they’re real. This was how I felt the first time I looked closely at a passionflower (Passiflora incarnata) bloom. Between the deep shade of purple, the squiggly intricate filaments of the “corona” above the petals, and the bright green stigma and ovary, it seemed like something from the imagination of Dr. Seuss.
A Gulf fritillary butterfly visits the passionvine in my yard. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Our vine is full of blooms right now, and every time I walk past the arbor I stop in admiration. I’m not the only one—the plant is covered up with Gulf fritillary butterflies, small orange and black near-mimics of monarchs. Like the monarch, they possess chemical defense mechanisms that make them taste bad to would-be predators. Fritillaries are so fond of passionvines as a nectar source that they are sometimes referred to as “passion butterflies.” Adult females frequently lay their eggs on the plant, as well.
Carpenter bees are big fans of the flower, digging for pollen throughout its bloom time. The leaves also attract pollinator insects; they have “extrafloral nectaries” that secrete a sugary substance at their bases, attracting bees and ants.
A carpenter bee visiting a passionflower. Photo credit: UF IFAS
Passionfruit are quite large for such a delicate vine—spherical, green, and about the size of a chicken egg. The plant is also known as a “maypop.” I’ve seen two explanations for this; the fruit’s skin is fairly thin, so it will respond with a satisfying “pop” if stepped on. Alternatively, the name could come from the idea that if the fruit drops into the soil and overwinters, a new vine will “pop” out of the ground the following May.
The passionfruit of the native Passiflora species. Photo credit: Mark Bailey, UF IFAS
The fruit is edible and has been prized for millennia as both a culinary and medicinal plant. Passion fruit juice has a strong, tropical flavor and contains fiber, vitamins A & C, and iron. It’s often used in jellies, ice cream, and other desserts. The pulp is edible raw, including the seeds. Most commercial production is in the equatorial regions of the world, particularly South America. Parts of Africa and Oceania produce it as well, along with more local sources in Florida, Puerto Rico, California, and Hawaii.
There are 500 varieties of Passiflora, with our native P. incarnata being one of the most cold-hardy of the varieties. The genus and common name “Passion” reference an early association of the flower with the crucifixion of Christ, with the flower parts imbued with symbolism and used by early Spanish missionaries to teach religious concepts to indigenous people in the Americas.
A red rat snake, or corn snake, slithers through the grass at a home in Pensacola. Photo credit: Cole Stevenson
It’s warm here in northwest Florida, which means our cold-blooded reptile friends are on the move. In the last few weeks, I’ve seen a snake at work, one at home, and received snake photos from my neighbors’ and parents’ yards. A fear of snakes seems to be both innate and passed down from one generation to the next. Cryptic by nature, snakes often surprise us when they appear in our path. Their lack of arms and legs feels creepy to us four-limbed mammals, and when you add in the fact that some of them are venomous, it’s a recipe for conflict. If I had a quarter for every time somebody told me, “the only good snake is a dead snake,” I could retire tomorrow.
So, I’m here to make the case for keeping good snakes alive. If you have spent any time around my colleague Rick O’Connor, you know he’s forever picking them up and singing their praises. It’s unlikely that you’ll catch me picking a snake up, but I’m definitely a fan of these fascinating creatures.
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Juvenile red rat/corn snake and a gray rat snake. Photos from the UF Snake ID guide, courtesy of Todd Pierson and Luke Smith.
Half the battle towards conquering a fear of snakes is knowing what you’re looking at. If you can recognize some of the most common nonvenomous snakes and realize which one is in your yard, it’ll take the edge off that first shot of adrenaline. The ones I hear of and see most frequently are garter snakes, black racers, and rat snakes. Rat snakes often have diamond patterned skin, but with practice it is easy to differentiate them from anything with venom. The Florida Museum of Natural History website has a really well done web-based snake identification guide categorized by pattern and using excellent photos.
A gray rat snake hiding out on a tractor. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Members of the genus Pantherophis are more commonly known as the gray rat snake, (Pantherophis spiloides), red rat snake, aka corn snake (P. guttatus) and the Eastern or yellow rat snake (P. alleghaniensis). We see few Eastern rat snakes in the western Panhandle, but they often interbreed with the gray and red varieties. Full grown, ray rat snakes can grow to be anywhere from 3 to 7 feet long, whereas red rat snakes are usually no more than 4 feet.
Rat snakes are docile, with eye-catching color patterns. I recently came across a gray rat snake curled around a tractor tire at the 4-H property in Barrineau Park. Six of us were standing around within a few feet of it, but the snake ignored us, slowly winding its way around the equipment. At midday, it was resting in the shade and conserving energy. My kids and parents also had an interaction with a rat snake recently. As my son walked through his grandparents’ garage, he stepped on something “squishy” that felt like a hose or rope. To his surprise, it was a large red corn snake, lying right at the threshold of their door. Even after being stepped on, it was alert but not aggressive, slowly finding an escape route into the yard. Snakes generally avoid conflict when given the chance to leave on their own.
A healthy red rat snake in my parents’ garage fled at the sight of humans. Photo credit: Cole Stevenson
As their name implies, rat snakes are known for feeding on rats and mice. They perform an important community service, if you will, keeping the population of vermin in check. They also eat insects, frogs, and birds. Rat snakes are constrictors, but will eat smaller prey whole and alive.
Snakes play an important role in the ecosystem, serving as both predator and prey for many animals. They are in the business of hiding most of the time, and would rather not see people. If you do have a lot of unwanted snake interactions on your property, there are several things you can do to reduce their likelihood, like sealing gaps in buildings where snakes can hide and keeping brush piles well away from a home. But the easiest thing is to observe them from a distance and let them go about their day. While any wild animal will bite in self-defense, the odds of being bitten very low if you don’t harass or try to pick one up!
During rainstorms, pollutants from yards and roads are picked up and flow downstream. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
In most Florida waterways, stormwater runoff is the primary source of pollution. If you think about what gets washed down the drain during a typical rainstorm, it may include anything from trash and construction dirt to oils, gasoline, and chemicals from surrounding lawns.
A lawn care professional reading the safety and instruction labels of agriculture-based pesticides and fertilizers. Photo credit: Tyler Jones, UF IFAS
Pesticides were first regulated at a national level in 1947, with the passing of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). In the early 1970’s, more regulations were put in place at national and state levels. There are specific instructions for use on every bag of insecticide or fungicide sold—a concept we refer to as, “the label is the law”—which homeowners are bound to follow if using own their own yard. But if someone has a professional business where they apply pesticides to yards, golf courses, or other athletic fields, they must have a license to do so. These pesticide licenses vary by type of application and landscape, but earning one entails participation in training, taking a test, and continuing education to maintain certification.
When used properly, fertilizer can help plants thrive. In excess, fertilizer can contribute to major water quality issues. Photo credit: Tyler Jones, UF IFAS
While the nutrients in fertilizer have long been known to contribute to water quality problems–particularly algae blooms–it was not until 2009 that fertilizer was regulated similarly to pesticides in Florida. As of 10 years ago, the state required horticulture professionals applying fertilizer as part of their services to obtain a separate license. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) provides a certification in Green Industries Best Management Practices (GI-BMP), designed to teach the safest and most effective means of using fertilizer products. Instructional classes are typically taught by Extension Agents or other horticulture professionals, or from a self-paced online program.
Agriculture-based pesticide and fertilizer application personal protective equipment (PPE) including boots, gloves, aprons, goggles, respirators, masks, and a Tyvek suit. Photo credit: Tyler Jones, UF IFAS
The GI-BMP courses cover cultural landscape practices, pesticide storage and safety, proper irrigation, and details on fertilizer application. If you are a homeowner hiring a lawn care service, ask about their pesticide and fertilizer licenses. Employing a licensed lawn care professional is not only following the law, but also improves the odds that your lawn will be maintained well and in an environmentally responsible manner.
If you work in this industry and are seeking certification to apply fertilizer, the online classes are available on demand. To see a statewide in-person class schedule, visit the following website: https://gibmp.ifas.ufl.edu/classes.
