In early November a local crabber, Kevin Martina, brought an interesting catch to the Franklin County Extension office in Apalachicola. Kevin and his brother Kenneth Martina fish for blue crabs in Apalachicola Bay and they came across what appeared at first glance to be a red-colored blue crab. In all their combined years of working crab pots, neither of them had seen a crab like this. On closer inspection at the Extension Office, there appeared to be some differences from a blue crab, other than the striking red coloration. It was the innate curiosity of our Extension Office Manager, Michelle Huber, that led us to the discovery that the crab was a species with a native range spanning Jamaica and Belize to Santa Caterina, Brazil. After Michelle showed photos of what she had found on her phone, we reached out to colleagues at the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR) and told them we might have a Bocourt swimming crab (Callinectes bocourti). I told them that I could find no range maps indicating this species lived in our region. The nearest US Geological Survey data points for the species in the Gulf of Mexico were Alabama to the West and the Florida Everglades to the South. It was not long after the ANERR staff reached out to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that we received interest in confirming the identification and officially documenting the Bocourt swimming crab find.
Bocourt Swimming Crab – USGS/South Carolina DNR
The first documented occurrence of a Bocourt swimming crab in the US happened in 1950 in South Florida. Since then, there have been rare finds in AL and MS and more common occurrences from South Florida all the way up to North Carolina on the Atlantic Coast. Theories about how they arrived include possible transport of larvae in ships’ ballast water or a natural expansion of range with the aid of various ocean currents like the Gulf Stream or by hitching a ride on floating debris from the Caribbean. Ecologically speaking, Bocourt crabs and our native blue crabs have virtually the same dietary habits and both species occur together throughout some parts of their native range. Even though there is likely some competition for food and refuge habitat, it doesn’t appear at this time that one of these crabs would dominate the ecosystem over the other. It also is not evident that Bocourt crabs are reproducing and established in the Northern Gulf of Mexico to-date.
If you are a commercial crabber in the Florida Panhandle, or happen to fish a few recreational traps, we would be interested to know if you have seen this species before. Location data and any good photos of specimens would go a long way to help monitor the species occurrence in our region. You can reach out to me at Elovestrand@ufl.edu or contact your local County Extension office to pass the info my way. Happy crabbing!
One thing about nature that you can be sure of is, nobody can say that they have “seen it all.” Just around the next corner is something that you have never seen before in your life. It doesn’t matter if you are the most seasoned, highly educated naturalist on the planet. There are oodles of delightful discoveries that you have yet to make. Sometimes you happen upon them in your roaming about. Other times they just come to you. That was the case with the two damselflies pictured with this article. Now, I have seen plenty of damselflies before and even observed them flying in tandem with the male’s tail tip attached near the female’s head. However, I had never before observed a mating pair completely “hooked-up” like this. Literally out of the blue, they landed on my knee while I was sitting outside one day. Without even thinking about the fact that it might be considered a rude invasion of their privacy, I whipped out my cell phone and got a decent pic (darn paparazzi are everywhere).
This mated pair of damselflies landed on my knee one day – Erik Lovestrand
With the world of information available at our fingertips, it didn’t take long for me to find an explanation for the heart-shaped mating configuration of these winged beauties. Once the male has attached to the female’s head or prothorax, she bends here abdomen down and connects the tip of her tail under the base of his abdomen. This is where she is able to collect his gametes that will fertilize her eggs. Shortly after mating, she will deposit her eggs somewhere near or in the water so her hatching larvae have access to the aquatic environment where they will live until they emerge as adults. This particular species of damselfly has several different color morphs. It seems that there is a genetic component to this feature but there is also a time factor. As they go through life, they exhibit color changes related to their age also. I have observed orange, copper, blue, and green colored individuals during a massive emergence event. Hundreds of individuals had landed on the walls of a building where I worked. The biology and life history of damselflies are much more complex than what I have shared here, of course. Some scientists have made entire careers of collecting data and learning about this fascinating group of insects. I wonder, however, if it was not a detailed bit of information that sparked their curiosity to learn more, but instead an encounter with a heart-shaped pair of beautiful, winged jewels that came to them out of the blue one day.
One of several “flatfish” inhabiting our Panhandle coastal waters, the ocellated flounder (Ancylopsettaommata) is one of the more striking species, in my opinion. From the four distinctive eye spots (ocelli) to its incredible variability in background patterns, I must just say that it is a beautiful creature. Flounders are unique among fish, in that early during larval development one eye will migrate over to join the other and the fish will orient to lay on its side when at rest. Only the top side will have coloration and the bottom side will be white. While the eyes end up on the same side, the pectoral and pelvic fins remain in their traditional positions, although the bottom-side pectoral fin is reduced in size.
Not the Biggest but Definitely one of the Coolest Flounder Species Around
Ocellated flounders are always left-eyed, meaning if you stood them up vertically with their pelvic fins down, the left side of the body has the eyes. When laying on the ocean floor, their independently moving eyes can keep a lookout in all directions. However, flounders tend to remain immobile when approached, depending on an awesome ability to camouflage themselves from predators. They can flip sand or gravel onto their top side which hides their outline and their ability to match the color and texture of the surrounding substrate is phenomenal.
This species is a fairly small fish, reaching lengths of about ten inches. However, they are by no means the smallest flatfish around. We also have hogchokers (a member of the sole family, 6-8 in.) and blackcheek tonguefish (to 9 in.). These are dwarfed by the larger Gulf flounder and Southern flounder which are highly prized table fare by fishers along our coasts and can reach sizes that earn them the nickname of “doormat” flounders. Regardless of the species of flounder you observe, it is unquestionably one of the super cool animals we have the privilege of living with here along the North Florida Gulf Coast.
Just about everyone has heard this old expression “dynamite comes in small packages.” It is usually invoked in reference to someone of small stature who punches up in weight class. Well buddy, if you have ever unwittingly disturbed a yellow jacket nest, you know the true meaning behind that saying. I have personally gathered a significant amount of data on this topic over the years, to the point that I have developed a new “LAW OF NATURE” which should be included in every outdoor enthusiast’s training manual. More about this later.
Yellow jackets and baldfaced hornets belong to the insect family Vespidae. While larger than other species of yellow jackets, baldfaced hornets are more closely related to yellow jackets than to other hornets. Most people associate hornets with spherical paper nests usually built in the open and hanging from a tree branch. Baldfaced hornets do this, however, the two other yellow jacket species in Florida typically make their nests below ground, with one to many openings. On occasion though, they will make a nest above ground, as seen in this article’s accompanying photos. Another example of this that I once witnessed was a massive nest in the crown of a cabbage palm. It completely encircled the trunk like a large doughnut about two feet below the fronds and extended upward into the frond bases. Overall, it was about 4 feet high and 3 feet wide.
The interior of the abandoned car is almost completely filled with a giant yellow jacket nest. Photo: public domain
Being social insects, yellow jackets have a fascinating life history. Multiple queens are produced each fall and fertilized by drones (males) before dispersing on solitary missions to create a new colony next spring. After overwintering in a protected place, she emerges and gets to work. Chewing wood fibers into a pulpy mass, she builds a small paper nest that contains a small comb of cells where she lays eggs for the first generation of workers (all infertile females). Upon hatching, the workers take over the tasks of building, gathering food resources, rearing brood and defending the colony. The queen’s sole duty now is to lay more eggs. In the fall of that first year, new queens typically leave the nest and the old queen dies. Upon her death, the colony’s social structure begins to breakdown and all remaining occupants eventually die out. On rare occasions, some of the young fertile queens may take up housekeeping in the existing nest structure and continue to enlarge it. Usually though, the old nest is totally abandoned to the elements. Now, back to what I have learned from my unfortunate penchant to collect data on yellow jackets.
LOVESTRAND’S LAW OF NATURE: The number of stings you will be dealt upon disturbing a yellow jacket colony, is inversely proportional to the rate at which you put distance between yourself and said colony. 1st COROLLARY TO LOVESTRAND’S LAW OF NATURE: The time between pain of the first sting and the brain’s capacity to activate your flight reflex, plus the wasted time bouncing off trees and climbing over any other persons in your flight path, diminishes in an additive fashion, the rate at which distance between yourself and the colony can be achieved. 2nd COROLLARY TO LOVESTRAND’S LAW OF NATURE: The rate at which you put distance between yourself and a disturbed yellow jacket colony, is also directly proportional to the number of stings you have been dealt during previous interactions with pissed off yellow jackets.
Fortunately, the most stings I have ever received during a single incident was thirteen. It’s funny how numbers like that stick in your head but it really was quite a memorable experience. Did I mention, unlike honeybees, yellow jackets have no barb on their stinger and will cling to you, stinging until they exhaust their venom supply? Perhaps, tucking this tidbit into the recesses of your brain will somehow add an extra shot of adrenaline to your rate of escape and save you a few stings. It works for me.
It certainly appears that I am on an insect kick of late based on the content of my last three newsletter articles. Honestly though, when I think about it, bugs definitely rank near the top of my list for mystery and intrigue in the natural world. When we begin to dig into the details of their life histories, the revelations are mind-boggling, to say the least. Take the process of metamorphosis for instance. Scientists have described this process in detail and even identified the many hormones that trigger the changes that take place. But when I look at a caterpillar, then a pupa, and finally an adult Luna moth, all of the scientific knowledge in the world could never quell the flood of pure awe that wells up inside. Okay, I get emotional just thinking about it so let’s move on.
Luna moth caterpillars molt four times with the final instar turning a reddish brown just before it pupates.
Photo: Flickr Creative Commons, by Judy Gallagher
Luna moth caterpillars go through four molts, producing five instars, all exhibiting distinctly different characteristics. The fifth instar can be almost three inches long and has more bristly hairs on its skin than earlier instars. It also undergoes a dramatic color change and begins to wander as it gets very close to pupation. I saw one crossing a road once and took a picture to ID later. I was shocked to learn that it was the same species as the bright green ones I had seen pictures of. Another incredible fact about luna moth caterpillars is that when exposed to long photoperiods they tend to complete their pupal phase within 2-3 weeks but short photoperiods (i.e. as winter approaches) result in pupae that enter a dormancy period that can last up to 9 months. I remember finding a silk cocoon when I lived in Indiana during graduate school and brought it inside one Fall. I left it somewhere in the apartment and totally forgot about it. The following Summer we came home one day to find a large, beautiful cecropia moth hanging on the curtains (at least 8 months from when I found it).
All giant silk moths spin a silken cocoon some wrapped in leaves which provides effective camoflauge.
Photo: Erik Lovestrand
Over my years of living in North Florida, I have had the fortune to come across several native moths belonging to the family Saturniidae. These have included the cecropia moth, luna moth, polyphemus moth, promethea moth, royal walnut moth (a.k.a. regal moth), imperial moth, orange-tipped oakworm moth, rosy maple moth, pine devil moth and io moth (beware the stinging spines of the io moth caterpillar). Some of the most visually stunning species in this group belong to the sub-family Saturniinae and are referred to as giant silk moths. This group spins a silken cocoon in which it resides during the pupal phase. When the transformation is complete, it uses horny spurs on its thorax near the base of the forewings to cut its way out of the silk cocoon. Once free of the cocoon it will find a suitable resting place to pump fluid from its swollen body into the wings until they are fully unfolded and hardened for flight. Males typically hatch a few days ahead of females and locate potential mates by homing in on pheromones produced by females.
The adult phase of a luna moth’s life is usually only about 10 days, during which time its sole mission is to mate and produce offspring. Adult moths do not even feed but live off resources stored during the larval phase. A good place to get a look at one of these magnificent creatures would be your local Recreation park during the summer months when the lights are on at the ball fields. Many of our giant silk moths are strongly attracted to lights at night and it is not unusual to find one flying around the lights or resting on a nearby structure. If you ever cease to be blown away by thinking about what it takes to make a moth into a moth, I would suggest you spend a few minutes searching your computer for images of praying mantis species (specifically, the orchid mantis). So many amazing insects out there!
