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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 - 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 an insect. I am about 1-2 inches long, with green, brown, and black
markings and beautiful, lacy wings that look almost transparent. My life
begins underground as a nymph, where I feed on sap from plants and grow
for years. When I am ready to emerge as an adult I go through one last molt
and leave an empty shell behind. I am a strong flyer and spend most of my
adult life in trees. My entire lifecycle can last as long as 10 years, some of
my relatives are famous for their long 13 and 17 year cycles. I am mostwell
known for the sound that I make. Females of my type are mostly mute, but
males make loud calls to attract females. Who am I?

Matt took these pictures
right in his own backyard.

Squirrels are everywhere in
Florida, from the coastal
area to the inland. They are
our most common mammal.
These incredibly agile, cute,
and wacky characters have
no trouble adapting to life
around people, in fact if
you look out your window
right now there is a good

chattering sound at you.
It's fun to watch a squirrel
get to a "squirrel- proof"
bird feeder by jumping from
a nearby tree or hanging
from a branch to get a free
meal. They are clever,
athletic and persistent and
will try over and over again
until they succeed. And they
will succeed! The scientific
name for the grey squirrel
is Sciurus carolinensis.

chance you will see one looking right back at you! Look and listen for these
cute little animals the next time you're in your yard or in the woods. You might
hear one scolding you if you're disturbing it. Its tail will flick as it makes its

· There are around 365 different species of squirrel: tree squirrels (with
bushy tails), ground squirrels (with non-bushy tails), and flying squirrels
(who cannot really fly, but can glide using a flap of skin).

· The smallest squirrel is the African Pygmy Squirrel. They are 5 inches
long from their heads to the tip of their tails. The
largest squirrel is the Indian Giant Squirrel. It
can be as much as 3 feet in length.

· Squirrels are rodents. With almost 2000
species, rodents are the largest group mammals,
making up 40% of all present day mammals.

· The Gray squirrel has been traced back
50 million years, from a fossil record made
in North America.

· The hind legs of squirrels are double-jointed.
This helps them run up and down trees quickly.

· Squirrels are found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.