Indigo Snakes in north Florida
Indigo release ’24: Cola River, Zooniverse, and 41...
Wild born indigo snakes found at Apalachicola Bluffs...
2023 Update On The Reintroduction Of Eastern Indigo...
Latest Indigo Snake Release the Largest at Apalachicola...
Searching for Indigo Snakes in the Apalachicola Bluffs...
Snakes, Eagles, & Gopher Tortoises at the E.O....
The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About the WFSU Ecology Blog
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • Secrets of the Seep: A Voyage into the Mysteries of Ocean Carbon
    • Finding the First Floridians: Underwater Archeologists Uncover Florida’s Prehistory
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Wasps of North Florida: The Bad, the Ugly, and the (yes, really) Good
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources
Category:

Pollinators and Gardening

American lady on laurel cherry flowers.

Here we’ve gathered stories on pollinators, both in our yards and in our wild spaces.  Our area is a stronghold for species that are otherwise rare in the southeast, and we travel to meet those.  But we spend a lot of time exploring our home space; raising butterflies, recognizing bees and other beneficial insects (and “pests”) in our home ecosystems, and creating a landscape to attract wildlife.

Check out our Backyard Blog, where we explore the wildlife and plants of Ecology Producer Rob Diaz de Villegas’s yard.  It’s not a big space, but you’d be surprised at the diversity of life there.

  • Pollinators and Gardening

    Innovation Park’s Longhorn Bee Nest Metropolis

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 9, 2025
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 9, 2025

    Wander into the world of longhorn bees, and the bees that kill their young, in …

    0 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • Pollinators and GardeningWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    The Rare Prickly Pear Longhorn Bee | Munson Sandhills

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas August 20, 2025
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas August 20, 2025

    We go in search of a rare bee that specializes in the flowers of prickly …

    0 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • Coast to CanopyPlants- From Wildflowers to Longleaf PinePollinators and Gardening

    No Mow March & Rewilding in North Florida | Coast to Canopy Episode 1

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 13, 2025
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 13, 2025

    Feed the year’s first pollinators by leaving your yard alone. What you need to know …

    0 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • Pollinators and GardeningWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Mining Bees: The Docile Bees Making Mounds on Your Lawn

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 12, 2025
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 12, 2025

    It’s March in north Florida, and mining bees are making little dirt mounds all over. …

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  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPollinators and GardeningThe Red Hills of Florida & Georgia

    The Bee That Wasn’t Supposed to be at Tall Timbers

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 15, 2024
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas November 15, 2024

    We find a bee far from its known range, sipping on nectar at Tall Timbers …

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  • Longleaf Pine & Fire EcologyPollinators and GardeningWildlife in North Florida- Critters Big and Small

    Finding the rare sandhills cellophane bee – with data

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 7, 2024
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas May 7, 2024

    We use iNaturalist data to help find the sandhills cellophane bee. Researchers are looking for …

    2 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    Bang for your caterpillar buck: which plants host the most?

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 23, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas October 23, 2023

    We look at a tool that tells you which plants host the most caterpillar species …

    2 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    Don’t tear it out? Rethinking (and rewilding) your Tallahassee lawn

    by Liesel Hamilton April 17, 2023
    by Liesel Hamilton April 17, 2023

    Turfgrass lawns get a bad rap. But might turfgrass have a place alongside native wildflowers …

    4 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    Backyard Blog 2023: Another year of stalking insects with a camera

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 31, 2023
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas March 31, 2023

    Our Ecology Producer photographs his backyard ecosystem, witnessing seasons change through his plants and the …

    0 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
  • In the GardenPollinators and Gardening

    My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog

    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 29, 2022
    by Rob Diaz de Villegas December 29, 2022

    A year of life and death struggles, mating, caterpillars, and several new pollinator visitors to …

    1 FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
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A fuller Porter Sink basin.
Porter Sink, in Lake Jackson, is once again exposed. Learn more about Tallahassee's grand canyon in this 2021 post.

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iNaturalist

iNaturalist became a part of the WFSU Ecology Blog during the EcoCitizen Project in 2019.  Since then, we’ve used it to help identify the many plants and animals we see on our shoots.  And on the Backyard Blog, we show how it can be used to identify weeds and garden insects, to help figure out what’s beneficial or a possible pest.  Below is the iNaturalist profile belonging to WFSU Ecology producer Rob Diaz de Villegas.

iNaturalist


View robdv’s observations »

Most Recent

  • Lake Jackson and Lake Miccosukee sinkholes exposed | December 2025
  • Alligators (and their babies) in the Okefenokee Swamp
  • Diving into (and researching) the Wakulla Spring cave system
  • Let’s get geological: explaining the Woodville Karst Plain
  • We search for spiders and scorpions, at night, by Lake Talquin

CLICK TO SUPPORT WFSU ECOLOGY

WFSU Public Media’s state and federal funding has been eliminated, but you can support locally produced science and environmental content by becoming a member. Your donation will allow us to continue producing the WFSU Ecology Blog, the Coast to Canopy podcast, and documentaries such as Finding the First Floridians. Thank you gifts include shout-outs on Coast to Canopy for a year and/ or a calendar of north Florida nature images straight from the pages of the Ecology Blog. 

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The WFSU Ecology Blog
  • Home
    • About the WFSU Ecology Blog
    • EcoAdventures
      • Kayak and Canoe Adventures
      • Hiking
      • Wildlife Watching
    • Observations From the Field
      • White Pelicans Visit Dr. Charles L. Evans Pond in Tallahassee
      • An April Walk at Ochlockonee River WMA
      • Nesting Raptors at Honeymoon Island State Park
    • WFSU Public Media Home
  • Documentaries
    • Secrets of the Seep: A Voyage into the Mysteries of Ocean Carbon
    • Finding the First Floridians: Underwater Archeologists Uncover Florida’s Prehistory
    • In Their Words: Black Legacy Communities in North Florida
    • EcoCitizen Show | Seasons in South Tallahassee
    • Red Wolf Family Celebrates First Year at the Tallahassee Museum
    • Roaming the Red Hills
    • Oyster Doctors
    • Testing the Ecology of Fear
    • EcoShakespeare
    • Stories from the Apalachicola
    • Classic WFSU Ecology Documentaries
  • Habitats
    • Estuaries
      • Oyster Reef
        • The Effects of Predators and Fear on Oyster Reefs
        • Apalachicola Oyster Research
        • Animal Species in a North Florida Intertidal Oyster Reef
        • Oyster Reef Ecology | On the Reef
      • Salt Marsh
        • In the Grass- Salt Marsh Biodiversity Study
        • Plants and Animals of a North Florida Salt Marsh
        • Salt Marsh Ecology | In the Grass
      • Seagrass Bed
        • Predatory Snails, and Prey, of the Bay Mouth Bar Seagrass Beds
      • In the Grass, On the Reef Glossary
    • Waterways Big and Small
      • Aucilla/ Wacissa Watershed
      • Apalachicola Basin
        • Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines | Virtual Field Trip
        • The Age of Nature Screening & Discussion | The Future of the Apalachicola
        • Apalachicola River and Bay
        • Apalachicola RiverTrek | Kayaking, Camping, & Hiking the River Basin
    • Longleaf Pine & Fire Ecology
  • Backyard Habitat
    • Backyard Blog
      • My Year in Bugs: the 2022 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Ecology Blog | 2021
      • Backyard Blog November/ December 2020
      • Backyard Blog September/ October 2020
      • July and August 2020 Backyard Blog
      • Backyard Blog June 2020
      • Backyard Blog May 2020
      • Backyard Blog April 2020
      • Backyard Blog February and March 2020
      • Backyard Blog January 2020
      • Backyard Blog October through December 2019
      • Backyard Blog September 2019
      • Backyard Blog August 2019
      • Backyard Blog July 2019
      • Backyard Blog June 2019
      • Backyard Blog May 2019
      • Backyard Blog April 2019
      • Backyard Blog March 2019
      • Backyard Blog February 2019
      • Backyard Blog January 2019
      • The Backyard Bug Blog 2018
    • Backyard Flora and Fauna
      • Bees of North Florida and South Georgia
      • Wasps of North Florida: The Bad, the Ugly, and the (yes, really) Good
      • The Seasonality of Bees (and Bee Plants) in North Florida
      • Woody Vines of North Florida
      • Flies of North Florida are More Diverse than You’d Think
      • The Case for Weeds, Our Unsung Florida Native Plants
      • Devil’s Walkingstick: Your New Favorite Thorny Pollinator Plant?
      • Florida Native Milkweed | Tips for Growing Your Monarch Friendly Garden
      • Mistletoe | A Parasite for the Holidays (But Maybe We Like it Anyway?)
    • Florida Friendly Seasonal Planting Guide
    • Pollinator and Gardening Posts
    • Gardening Web Resources