raymor

big, but harmless. Don't think that this one eats its mates.

These spiders are huge but non-venomous and shy and retiring. Their webs are very sticky though and a kind of a pain to deal with if accidentally walk into one. And like the grasshoppers, the females are the big ones. They are over 100x larger than the males and from what I read on the web, a female's web may contain up to 10 males who continually try to mate with her. She will eat the males if food becomes scarce or, I guess, if she gets tired of their advances. Ouch!

this is a great small tropical tree. The cannabis-looking leaves are edible (after cooking) and are supposed to be tasty. It has white flowers on small stalks on top of the tree that insects love.
I'll get a photo of the leaves for you all. The old people across the street from me asked me if I was growing "reefer". Having an 80+ year old guy asking me that just made my day.
Chaya: An Ancient Plant for the New Garden
http://www.urbanharvest.org/gardening/vegetables/chaya.html

These moths look a bit like little flying crawdads.

The female is the big one.

Monarch caterpillar on scarlet milkweed.
I'm not going to be posting much over the next week or so--going to Miami to see my mom. She had a knee replaced last week and is home now from the rehab center and needs some help.
My sister and her family are also going to come down, so I might be posting a pic or 2 of my unbearably cute niece and nephew.

This is an Augochlora Green Metallic Bee (had to look it up).
They are a ground bee and are only around for a couple of weeks in spring. An interesting thing about this bee is that in North Florida they are a shiny metallic green; in South Florida they are a metallic shiny blue. Here in Central Florida they are a combination of striped green and blue. The difference in coloration is due to differences in soil composition in the various areas. I didn't bother to look up "how" the soil composition changes the color, but it sounds interesting.

This wasp was a purple gem.

I worked in the yard all day yesterday w/my camera in my pocket. I have a bunch of pics of the bees and other bugs that are having a field day now that the orange and grapefruit trees are in bloom.