My Yard (Terrace Park)

(Some type of) Green Anole spotted atop a shutter on my home (Terrace Park, Tampa, Fl.) Feb. 6th, 2019 around 4pm. The habitat is shaded by a turkey oak, and is somewhat sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

(S)He is neon/lime green with red nostrils (the red dot placement looks like nostrils), and a faint cyan tint around the eye and throat area (more visible around the eye). One website (1) said that males are slightly bigger than females, females also having a tan coloration to their sides, and males having a pink neck-fan that extends to attract mates or warn rivals (4).

(S)He seems to live behind the shutter, which might accumulate bugs, and protect him from the elements and predators. This individual has been spotted along with another here (not pictured, on other occaisions), possibly a breeding pair?

These lizards are generally less spastic (2) (video of man picking up wild green anole) than the invasive brown anole, which is competing with it for habitat. They might accompany you in your garden if they recognize you, not being immediately spooked by you, even if you get close (unless you mess with them too hard I assume), unlike the brown anoles. They are suprisingly relaxed critters. (1st hand accounts)

Green Anoles can change color from brown to green (3), with sources saying the color changes aren't as sophisticated as true a chemeleon's (4), but one video shows vivid coloration changes during mating (weird, but hey, science, and at least it's tastefully covered by a leaf)(5)(youtube suggested it after several green anole videos, and the title mentioned color change) The color change on the male's eye is drastic, from light blue to bright orange, among other changes.

The green anole is native to much of the southern U.S., and is generally arboreal (4).

(1): Reptiles Magazine Green Anole Care Sheet
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Care-Sheets/Green-Anole/

(2):Friendly Green Anole Lizard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPsKzDg6wMA

(3):Everglades National Park Species Profile
https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/greenanole.htm

(4): Savannah River Ecology Laboratory Species Profile
https://srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/anocar.htm

(5): Green Anole Lizards Mating and Change Color
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZxAWoG86U4

(6):Native lizard hangs tight with rapid evolution
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-evolution-green-brown-lizards-20141101-story.html

Saw a bee on a flower (bidens of some sort) outside my Terrace Park, Tampa, Fl. home on Feb. 2nd 2019 around 4:30pm. The environment is sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

Not sure exatly what type of bee, but I'm hoping the pictures are enough to work with.

The bee is fuzzy, with yellow and black coloration and stripes.

In the first picture, you can see the bee's tongue while it feeds (sticking out of it's face into the flower, kind of dark-reddish tube).

Its head appears to be semi-triangular, and its legs might have a unique appearance as well (hoping a bee-expert will know).

Here is a link to an extensive guide on bees in Florida. Honestly, it's so comprehensive seeming that I don't know where to start with identification:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/HallG/Melitto/floridabees/Bees_of_Florida_Part1.pdf

BSC2011L Update:

Originating in Europe, Africa, and the middle east, they're now naturalized on every continent except antarctica.

https://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/BEES/euro_honey_bee.htm

Saw a small black and white bird making noise and pecking around on a tree branch outside my Terrace Park, Tampa, Fl. home on Feb. 2nd 2019 around 4:30pm. The environment is sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

The bird had black feathers with white speckles arranged in lines down the wing (see pictures). Patches of white feathers could be seen on its back, belly, sides of neck, and head.

In one photo, it was pecking at the tree, so the motion created a blur. The pecking was making audible noises, leading me to believe it was a woodpecker, and not just another foraging bird; The downy woodpecker seems to match this feather coloration and pattern with the observed behavior.

The Downy Woodpecker is native to most of north america except the arid west (1), and fairly common. This source states the woodpecker can be observed foraging for bugs on the underside of branches, which was observed from this individual.

(1): https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/downy-woodpecker

Some sort of weird bug spotted on my porch in Terrace Park, Tampa, Florida on Feb. 4th, 2019, around 1pm! The environment is sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

Has a vivid orange spot on sides, otherwise black, and lots of little black spikes/hairs. Appears to have 6 legs, and one of the shots shows a good side-silhouette of the bug.

BSC2011L update:

Species in the Ladybeetle Subfamily Coccinellinae are found worldwide, with around 100 species found in Florida.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/lady_beetles.htm

Butterfly spotted in Terrace Park, Tampa, Fl, on Feb. 7th, 2019 around 2:30pm. The environment is sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

It was orange and black with many small white dots. Not sure what species, apparently more than just monarchs fit this description.

BSC2011L update:

Found throughout the Americas and Australia.

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/monarch.htm

Saw a caterpillar munching on my milkweed in Terrace Park, Tampa, Fl. on Feb 5th, 2019 around 4:30pm. The environment is sandy/scrubby/wetland forest-like, reflective of the Temple Terrace area.

It had yellow, black and white stripes. Not sure what species, apparently more than just monarchs fit this description.

Sneaky snake.

After I took the shot, I acted like I didn't see him and went to sit on my porch (closer for better shot). Sat for a moment, looking elsewhere, and when I looked for him again, he's poking his head over the edge of the porch looking at me! I waved to him, and once he realized he'd been spotted (he moved suprisedly, ever-so-slightly after the wave), he slithered off (I couldn't get another shot).

Little green frog with orange eyes resting near the small pool in the top of my pineapple plant. I've seen it resting in the pool on previous days, but today the lighting was good enough to see what kind of frog. It's been raining almost daily in Tampa for the past few... weeks? Months? - so the pool has been pretty consistently present without my watering.