Wonders of Nature

Be sure to check back each week as this page will have a new
Featured Creature weekly, with new photos, fun and information to get you
all involved in the wonders of nature.

The answer to each week's Critter Quiz becomes the Featured Creature the following week.

Click HERE to go to this week's page - the answer is there waiting for you!

If you have photos that you would like to submit for consideration as the Featured Creature
please email Wonders of Nature

I am a bird. I am very colorful. My feathers are mostly green, but my wings
and tail are tipped in dark blue and my face and beak are black. I have light
blue feathers around my neck and red-orange ones around my legs. I sound
beautiful don't I? I am originally native to South America but there are wild
flocks of my species (released pet birds) living in Florida, mainly on the
west coast including areas of St. Petersburg and Clearwater, but also in
Miami. I am very social and am most often seen in large flocks. I am also
very noisy - I am generally heard long before I am seen! I make my nest
inside holes in trees, especially palm trees. Who am I?

Matt took these pictures
right in his own backyard.

Argiopes are found all over
the world and are some of
the most beautiful spiders
on the planet. Here in
Florida we have several
different species from this
group of spiders. If you
want to see an argiope for
yourself you may have to
do nothing more than head

prey up to twice their own
size. If you see a large,
strikingly colored spider in
your yard and wonder if it
is an argiope, one way you
can tell is to look at it's
web - argiopes are the only
spiders that makes a zigzag
line or a cross of zigzag
white web material in its
web. The scientific name
for this genus of spider
actually is Argiope.

out into your yard- argiopes are often found in gardens, which is how they
earned the nickname "garden spider". Like most spiders, argiopes are
harmless to humans, however they are awesome predators and will often take

· Spiders are not insects. Insects have three body parts and six legs. Spiders
have eight legs and two body parts, the abdomen and the thorax.

· There are less than 10,000 species of birds
and less than 5,000 species of mammals on
Earth but there are more than 35,000 species
of spiders that have been identified by
scientists… and many many more that have
yet to be discovered by us!

· Fear of spiders is called Arachnophobia. It is
one of the most common fears among humans.
However, most spiders (even the giant tarantulas)
are harmless to humans and really nothing to fear.

· Male spiders are usually smaller than
female spiders.

· The largest spider in the world is the Goliath Bird-eating Spider. One that
was found had a leg span of 11 inches - that's big enough to cover a dinner
plate!