3:00 snapshot #1493: Estero Bay Preserve State Park

[urbpan]

After getting run out of the Edison/Ford house (It was xmas eve, and the staff probably wanted to get to see their families) we poked a finger at the map and found this state park. We hiked blindly, deeper and deeper into sandy soil, palmettos and scattered pines. I kept expecting to find the bay, but we headed in exactly the wrong direction. We'll have to take another whack at it next time we're in the area. Not that it was totally wasted, we saw...



Rhinoceros beetles! I've never seen these guys in the wild before, and I've still never seen them alive. These are nicely intact carcasses, suitable for dioramas.


Or for photos that make you appear brave. They are beautiful, even as preserved specimens.


There were a few wildflowers scattered about, including this one which was totally unfamiliar to me. EDITED TO ADD: But my friend Jenn Forman-Orth identified it as Polygala rugelii, a wildflower found ONLY in Florida! Thanks Jenn!


Almost clover-like, but when you look at the flower head up close it looks distinctly different.


Most exciting was this discovery: Bolete mushroom growing from the sand! Mushrooms in this group are symbiotic with the roots of trees. Since palmettos and pines were the only trees around, hopefully this won't be too hard to identify.


And then, moving some debris around I found this tiny spider (it's about 5mm long) probably an immature wolf spider.