On April 12th, Jeff Cagle and I visited the second-most recommended location for butterflies--Tosohatchee. Even though this place is relatively close (and almost right across the street from Orlando Wetlands Park), I've only been here about three times. But it was recommended that we try the Powerline Rd and Fish Hole Rd for butterflies. We were amazed with the number of species we had there. We counted over 30 species, and in fact we don't have an exact number yet, because we're still trying to ID the species in several photographs. But here are a few of my favorite photos of butterflies from our morning. In this post, I'll highlight the non-skippers and return the the skippers later.
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| Barred Sulphur |
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| Palamedes Swallowtail |
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| Phaon Crescent |
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| Little Metalmark |
We also had the opportunity to photograph other critters in the park. We came across a really cool robberfly, a toothpick grasshopper (which I didn't even know existed), and we had the chance to witness a battle between a spider (Argiope florida) and a paper wasp. I saw the whole thing. The wasp was no match for the spider. Within seconds, the spider had immobilized the wasp and kept itself safe from the stinger. The wasp never had a chance, and spider started in on its new meal.
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| Argiope florida with Paper Wasp |
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| Long-Headed Toothpick Grasshopper |
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| Proctacanthus brevipennis |
We saw about 40 species of birds while we were there, the biggest highlight was a pair of Red-headed Woodpeckers, which I suspect are breeding in the area.
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| Red-headed Woodpecker |
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