Category Archives: Creature Features

A few facts, photos, and personal anecdote about a species.

Queen of Red Hill

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Written by Hilary Swain, Jennifer Brown (Into Nature Films), and Betsie Rothermel

Archbold Biological Station has a new leading lady. She is the star of the film, ‘Queen of Red Hill,’ just released online at Archbold’s Vimeo and Youtube channels. Her name is Number 21, that is, Gopher Tortoise 21. At 60+ years old, she is one of the ‘grande dames’ of the Gopher Tortoise community living on the Red Hill at Archbold. She landed her role, vividly portraying her sandy, underground realm, because her story is Archbold’s story. She is emblematic of a tale told throughout wild Florida – loss of home, survival, and eventual recovery. Continue reading →

The Mysterious World of Ants

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Florida is full of ants, ranging from burly carpenter ants parading up tree trunks to microscopic species tunneling deep in the sand. From Archbold Biological Station comes the first book on Florida ants, covering all 239 species found in the state. The author, Dr. Mark Deyrup, scientist at Archbold, has spent more than 25 years studying the strange lives of Florida ants, including about 130 species found here in Highlands County. Continue reading →

Not All that Glitters is Nectar

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There’s incredible beauty in nature; often you just have to get on your hands and knees to see it. While working at Archbold Biological Station, I often took walks that required me to step around a large puddle. It was probably because I was too preoccupied with not getting wet that it took me two months to realize that I had been tiptoeing over my favorite plants in the world: carnivorous plants. Continue reading →

A Rare and Amazing Flower

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As I was going for a sunset walk one evening I spotted a flower that I never thought I would get to see. I was so excited that I got up before sunrise to go photograph it the next morning. Meet the Dicerandra frutescens, aka Lake Placid Scrub Balm, one of the rarest plants at Archbold with one of the most amazing pollination stories. Continue reading →