Florida's Fabulous Critters

Thanks to my students this week and my CGA classmate Scott Ehrhorn, I had two critters to identify today.  I used some field guides my mom sent me for my birthday this year on insects and another set of books that I dearly love called the "Florida's Fabulous" series. Here is one by one of my favorite authors, Dr Mark Deyrup of Archbold Biological Station in Florida.  Thanks to my boss, Karen Folsom, I got to meet him, thereby putting him in favorite author status!

 I love field guides and thanks to my parents, I had my own "Golden Guides" when I was growing up.  I sat for hours during the rare snow day home from school in Atlanta watching the birds outside at the feeder. When I had the chance to go on a "Wider Opportunity" (now called "Destinations") with Girl Scouts of Northeast Georgia Council, I went to a biology camp at Sanibel Island, Fl where the famous Dr R. Tucker Abbott sat with us and helped us identify our finds along the shoreline each day.  He was so kind and he would sit with me looking at and turning over my collections.  He signed all three of my books, one of which was he Golden Guide to Seashells of the World. Next to his signature, he wrote the year; 1977. Wow.  Almost 40 years ago.  Imagine the impact he had on so many young people.  He was one of my favorites too. 

Adults simply have to take an interest in the critters that the kids find in order to stimulate a love for nature and a desire to learn more.  I just read a Facebook post by my friend Mike Mullins who had a teacher whi took him and others to hunt for sharks teeth on the beach in Venuce, FL.  That teacher enthusiasm and passion for shark's teeth had a huge impact on Mike's life. 

My students brought me a toad in camp this week, among many other things, and it was fascinating.  By studying it, they noticed not just that it was brown, but that it was several shades of brown and had orange feet!  I did not have a field guide with me, but it did not matter.  We named it, loved it, cared for it, and returned it to its home.  The kids connected with that toad and begged that it's picture be added to the blog. So kids, here it is;

The next ID came from Scott on Facebook, where he posted this picture of a beetle that crawled out of his woodpile near Lynchburg, VA.  This critter is known as a "Fiery Seeker" or Caterpillar Hunter" (Calosoma scrutator) and is native to the Eastern U.S.  It eats lots of pests, so it's great for your garden.

I loved how Mark Deyrup described beetles in his Florida's Fabulous Insects book as the "Velociraptors in the Jurassic Parks of our soil". With Jurrasic World released last week, that is so appropriate.  Mark also writes that of all of the 1.4 million names species on earth, ONE QUARTER of them are beetles!  We are talking all animals, including birds and mammals!  According to Dr. Deyrup, when J.B.S. Haldane, a noted British biologist was asked, presumably by "some stuffy theologian", about what he would conclude about the nature of the Creater after studying creation, he replied "An inordinate fondness for beetles."  I love that.  We need to all continue that inordinate fondness for any critter, rock, plant, shark tooth, or seashell these kids bring to us.  You never know where your excitement will lead them!  Share your field guides with them and encourage them to begin their own collections. They are priceless.