2008 Trading Cards
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Lubber Grasshopper
Romalea microptera - The lubber is sure the most distinctive grasshopper species within the southeastern United States. It is well known both for its size and its unique coloration. This slow-moving grasshopper cannot fly and can jump only short distances. When handled, it gives off a foul-smelling liquid. Mostly the lubber is quite clumsy and slow in movement and travels by walking and crawling.
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Bottle-nosed Dolphin
Tursiops truncates - Dolphins can be found along inshore waters including estuaries, shallow bays, waterways, and freshwater rivers. These dolphins feed on a wide variety of fishes, squids, shrimps, and crabs, and often follow fishing boats to feed on the unwanted fish that are thrown overboard.They are particularly good at locating prey by using echolocation, that is, projecting a sound beam and listening to the echo. They ride the bow waves of boats and even surf waves.
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Opossum
Didelphis Virginiana - Florida's only marsupial (a mammal of the order Marsupialia comprised of opossums, kangaroos, wombats and bandicoots having a pouch containing the mammary glands and serving as a receptacle for the young) is the Virginia opossum. Opossums are about the size of a house cat, have long naked tails and small ears. Opossums occur throughout the state in virtually all habitats. When threatened, it may go limp, roll over, shut its eyes, and appear dead, hence "playing possum." Most often, it tries to bluff its attacker by hissing, screeching, or showing its teeth. Opossums are common in residential and suburban areas, and are most active at night.
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Crab Spider
Misumenoides formosipes - Most spiders in this family hold their legs outstretched to the side like crabs and can move forward, sideways, or backward. They have a short, rather broad body and 8 small eyes that are often located on raised bumps in 2 backward-curved rows or 4 eyes each.
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Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodiasr - This adaptable bird's large size enables it to feed on a variety of prey from large fish and frogs to mice, small birds, and insects. To catch their food, herons stand very still, like feathered statues. When an animal that is good to eat wanders nearby, the heron spears it with its sharp bill.
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Laughing Gull
Larus atricilla - A common sight along the Florida coast, this shorebird is named for its distinctive voice, which sounds like it is laughing, "ha-ha-ha-ha-haah." Laughing gulls nest in colonies on the ground, and the females lay up to about four brown-olive tinted eggs with dark splotches that hatch in about three weeks.
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Brown Water Snake
Nerodia taxispilota - The Brown Water Snake can be found in lakes, rivers, streams, swamps, marshes and ponds, especially where overhanging vegetation is present. These snakes are mostly active during the day, but sometimes can be found foraging at night. This snake feeds on frogs and fishes caught among the vegetation along the shoreline. It is quite lazy, basking and sleeping on limbs overhanging the water.
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Eastern Screech-Owl
Otus asio - These common owls are fearless in defense of their nests and will often strike unsuspecting humans on the head as they pass nearby at night. When discovered during the day, they often freeze in an upright position, depending on their cryptic coloration to escape detection. The Screech Owl lives in open deciduous woods, woodlots, suburban areas, lakeshores, and old orchards. Good hearing and eyesight help them catch mice and other small animals at night.
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Red-shouldered Hawk
Buteo lineatus - The Red-shouldered Hawk prefers lowlands, especially swampy woods and bogs. There it hunts by watching quietly from a low perch, dropping down to capture snakes and frogs. It also eats insects and small animals.
Normally shy, these birds become tame if they are not persecuted and in some places may nest in suburban areas. Its nest is made of stick and place in a crook high in a tree. Red-shouldered hawks reuse the same territory and nest if available each year.
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Cypress Lake
Cypress trees are typically located in low wetland areas. Nick-named the "wood eternal" because of their resistance to decay, these lovely trees tend to thrive in areas with fluctuating water levels. The water is usually clear and the color of tea, due to the release of tannic acid as leaves and other matter decompose. Cypress areas help filter out pollutants from the water-one of Mother Nature's "water treatment systems"! Cypress systems also provide a home to many species, including the endangered Florida panther and the wood stork.
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Butterfly Orchid
Encyclia tampensis - A Florida native, this orchid clings to the upper branches of large trees in the hardwood hammock and can be seen flowering in the spring and summer. It is the most common of all orchids in Florida. Flowers appear on a tall, thin stalk, flowering from spring to fall. Blooms are yellow-green or brownish with white tips. These flowers are a protected species-do not collect them from the wild.
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Hillsborough River
The Hillsborough actually starts as an overflow of the Withlacoochee River. It begins as a slow-moving sheet flow that percolates through a heavily vegetated river forest that has no real channel. For most of the year, at least for paddling purposes, the Hillsborough River begins where Crystal Springs empties 40 million gallons a day into the river keeping it flowing even in times of severe drought.
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