The Institute for Regional Conservation

For today’s #FromtheFieldFriday, here is a Tersa Sphinx Moth Caterpillar! Also known as the Xylophanes tersa, this caterpillar 🐛 will turn into a beautiful moth, with a wingspan of about 3 inches! These moths are native across the United States and South America. Their caterpillar’s pattern is known as ‘mimicry’, as it resembles a snake 🐍 with its ringed eyespots on its abdomen. This way, predators think the caterpillar is more threatening, and make sure to stay away! * * * * #IRC #InstituteforRegionalConservation #PineRocklandInitiative #PRI #PineRockland #EcologicalRestoration #EcosystemRestoration #HabitatRestoration

Today is #WildflowerWednesday! This is the Pineland Allamanda 💛. This yellow-flowered pine rockland plant is a native to South Florida, and other tropical places. It is listed as threatened in Florida, but little is known about the wildflower's range in the Caribbean. Partly, its rarity in South Florida is the result of highly fragmented pine rocklands. Pineland Allamandas are one of the many species in pine rocklands that benefit from periodic fires 🔥. Burns remove overgrowth, reduce invasive plants, and renew the soil with nutrients for native plants, such as this one, to thrive. With smaller pine rockland habitats, it is harder for these burns to occur. This is why pine rocklands conservation is critical, especially using controlled burns to help native fire dependent species bloom! * * * * * #Floridanativeplants #wildflower #floridanativewildflower #flawildflower #native #plants #plantID #botany #NativesForYourNeighborhood #NFYN #IRC #pinerockland #conservation #habitatrestoration

For this #FromtheFieldFriday, check out the work that our executive director, George Gann, and Conservation Program Manager, Liz Dutra, were doing! Recently, our Senior Staff were in the field working on a project called Corridors of Invasion. They were hunting down new emerging invasive plant species within several storm water treatment areas and surrounding natural areas. Non-native species can wreck havoc on native flora and fauna, so it is imperative to detect these emerging species before they cause harm. If something threatening is detected, we signal the warning calls about a plant ⚠️, and let the South Florida Water Management District know before it becomes a disturbance. This project is funded by the SFWMD which aims to protect native Florida wildlife and vital ecosystems🌱! * * Photos by Liz Dutra * * * #IRC #InstituteforRegionalConservation #nonnativeplant #invasiveplant #EcosystemRestoration #EcologicalRestoration #HabitatRestoration

Today is Give Miami Day! Please support the IRC and our conservation efforts 🌱❤️. * * * * * #GMD #GiveMiamiDay #IRC #conservation #restoration #nativeplants #invasive removal

For this week's #WildflowerWednesday, here's a Whitemouth Dayflower! This is the Commenlina erecta, found in Florida's pine rocklands, coastal uplands, and scrub habitats. It blooms in the Summer, but its beautiful flowers can be found year-round! The name "dayflower" comes from the flower's ability to open up during the day ☀️, and close at night. This wildflower is a favorite of many pollinators, such as bees 🐝and butterflies. It also grows well in South Florida's landscape, so keep this plant in mind for your backyard gardens! * * Photos by Liz Dutra * * * #Floridanativeplants #wildflower #floridanativewildflower #flawildflower #native #plants #plantID #botany #NativesForYourNeighborhood #NFYN #IRC #pinerockland #conservation

Today's #WildflowerWednesday features the Hairypod Cow-pea! Also known as Vigna luteola, this vining wildflower is native throughout Florida, and is a member of the bean family 🫘. This plant is super important to many of Florida's native butterflies 🦋, as it is a larval host plant for the long-tailed skipper, gray hairstreak, dorantes longtail, and the cassius blue. So, if you are thinking of creating a butterfly garden, keep this wildflower in mind! Although this vining plant is pretty, it can easily overtake other surrounding plants as it twines around them, so keep that in mind too 😉. * * Photo by Liz Dutra * * * #Floridanativeplants #floridanativewildflower #native #plants #plantID #botany #NativesForYourNeighborhood #NFYN #IRC #conservation #habitatrestoration

Thank you to everyone who came to Miami-Dade County’s Environmental Education Forum! IRC participated in this event at Hattie Bauer, where our crew and participants assisted with the removal of invasive plants, and then helped install native trees for the hammock 🌳! Thank you as well to everyone who visited our table! Participants visited tables of local environmental organizations and learned so much about conservation 🌎❤️. At our table, we showed volunteers examples of native and invasive plants commonly found in South Florida, and taught them about the importance of our Pine Rocklands and our conservation work. * * Photos by Melany Flint and Alex Andes-Gascon * * * #IRC #conservation #PRI #pinerocklands #nativeplants #invasivespecies #volunteering

For this #FromtheFieldFriday, our crew recently found a Wolf's-Milk Slime! Despite what you might think, this is not fungi 🍄❗Lycogala epidendrum is actually part of a group known as a 'slime mold'. Sounds gross, but it means that the Wolf's-Milk Slime is formed by a type of amoeba! From June until November, these fruiting bodies can be found on decaying wood. It also coins the name "Toothpaste Slime" from the paste-like substance that it secretes when popped! * * Photos by Alex Andes-Gascon * * * #IRC #InstituteforRegionalConservation #PRI #HabitatRestoration #fungi #conservation #botany

For today’s #WildflowerWednesday we have the Mexican Prickly Poppy! Also known as the Argemone mexicana, this bright yellow flower is actually a native to Florida! It blooms in the late winter, and as the name suggests, it is covered in thorny prickles, so be careful when spotting this plant! Many consider this plant a weed, but with its beautiful flower it is hard not to admire 💛. The Mexican Prickly Poppy attracts many pollinators with its large flowers, and wards off herbivores with its spines. * * * * * #Floridanativeplants #wildflower #floridanativewildflower #flawildflower #native #plants #plantID #botany #NativesForYourNeighborhood #NFYN #IRC #pinerockland #conservation #habitatrestoration

Happy #FromtheFieldFriday! 🦎 Recently, our crew found an invasive Veiled Chameleon. Also known as the Chamaeleo calyptratus, this reptile is native to Saudi Arabia and the Arabian Peninsula. Veiled Chameleons became a Florida invasive as a result of pet releases. It is important to know that while these reptiles are cool, they outcompete native reptiles and can be a threat to our insect populations ⚠️🪲. Just a reminder: these chameleons are fun as pets, but make sure to keep them as that! * * * Photos by Alex Andes-Gascon * * #IRC #InstituteforRegionalConservation #EcologicalRestoration #HabitatRestoration #invasive #invasivespecies #SpeciesDiversity