Opuntia Prickly Pear cactus (or paddle cactus for me)
Green with spines on it, each “paddle” is about the size of a ping pong paddle hence the nickname, some flowering due to its genus
Found in many southern states (typically dry climates)
This specific one was found in the hill country of the bexar county
Reference: southeasternflora.com
I believe this to be an Oriental Cockroach found outside on my patio. Small body, less than 2 inches, with small what appear to be thorns sticking out of its legs. Brown body that gets darker at the edges. Reference: https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Oriental-Cockroach
Visual Description: It has white patches on its body and two brown eyestalks. The color of its body is light brown and it carries a shell that has a spiral texture. The shape of its shell is round with a mix of brown and black patches. Defining characteristic: Its body is symmetrical but its shell is asymmetrical.
Habitat: Appears in wet or dry places, including woods, meadows, marshes, roadside, and gardens. A number of terrestrial snails are native to Florida while some are indigenous.
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/gastro/terrestrial_snails.htm
Reference:
Terrestrial Snails:
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/gastro/terrestrial_snails.htm
The organism was found on a tree bark in a park in the Riverview, FL area. The lichen covered the entirety of the tree bark in various, irregular and continuous shapes. The color appeared to be a slightly light green color accompanied by a grey tint. The texture seemed to be wrinkly and rough.
Reference: https://www.jungledragon.com/specie/19349/fluffy-dust-lichen.html
The monarch butterfly was found in caterpillar form, it was black, white and yellow in color with antenna on both ends. It was found in a park on milkweed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
I don't know if thats the exact name for the lichen/moss like plant but it definitely looks incredibly similar. This tree. was covered in it and it almost looked as though the tree was dying with it on. Very cool visually to me. Quite a few trees around it had the same thing growing on them. There are all types of tree in this location so many of this specific tree had this on it.
https://breathelighter.wordpress.com/2013/07/11/ancient-oaks-and-lace-lichen-step-back-in-time/
Cuban tree frogs are a pest, but there living organisms in Florida. They live in the Chordata phylum, they live a short life roughly 10 years. They are the largest tree frog, about 6 inches.
Protosome
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Description: This insect had six thin legs and a thin brown body. The wings were translucent with dark brown stripes on them.The crane fly was found on the side of my friend's house that is located by woods and ponds. These flies can grow to be 13-18 mm long in length. They are common in North America and thrive in humid climates. They can commonly be found by bodies of water and grassy terrains.
Source: https://bugguide.net/node/view/104251
This insect was found sitting on the ground at the Village at USF. The location can be described as suburban. It was isolated from other members of its species. Organism was an insect less than an inch long. The body was colored brown, with yellow stripes present. As is typical of wasps, it had wings and an elongated body.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/wasps/
Domain: Periplaneta americana
Name: American Cockroach
Description: The Periplaneta americana fully grown is usually around 4 cm long. They go through 3 stages of life; the egg, nymph and then adult. The Periplaneta americana pictured is in nymph stage. After hatching they are white and then after molting they become either a greyish-brown or a reddish-brown while the posterior margins are a darker color. After instar 4 they grow wing pads. In this photo you can see that it is a redish-brown color with darker margins and the start of wing pad formation.
Habitat: The American Cockroach is usually found in sewers, basements and drainage systems but also commonly found in commercial buildings that produce food. Outside they are found in moist and shady areas including hollow trees and wood piles. I found this American Cockroach in a horse barn that has a surplus on wood, food, water and dark places for hiding from the sun.
Reference: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/roaches/american_cockroach.htm
Visual Description:
A large bird approximately 2 ft in height. The organism had smooth white feathers, black legs, and a yellow bill. ID'd in the family Ardeidae due to its long curved neck and harpoon-like bill.
Habitat Description:
Perched on a pier located in a suburban park that sticks out into the Indian River Lagoon. Birds in the family Ardeidae are found worldwide, living on every continent except Antarctica.
Reference: Cornell Lab. "Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns." All About Birds..