Traveling in the South – Alligator Lake and Florida Caverns

At Tom’s suggestion we stopped at Alligator Lake Park on our way west in Florida. It was an excellent suggestion.

We walked the Canal Trail and were rewarded with hundreds of warblers which were primarily Myrtle and Palm Warblers but also included Orange-crowned, Northern Parula and Black-and-White Warbler.

We found this Polistes wasp, along with others on a groundsel shrub that was infested with beetle larvae. At first I thought that it was going after the beetle larvae, but they were after the sap leaking from leaves that the larvae were chewing. It was a real symbiotic relationship.

This is the larva of the groundselshrub beetle.

And, of course the ever present Myrtle Warbler (aka Yellow-rumped Warbler).

From here we headed further west and realized that we were going to be too early to check in at out motel in Du Fresniak Springs so Susan suggested that we stop at Florida Caverns State Park, which is a favorite of ours.

This park is always filled with interesting plants and sometimes other surprizes.

Atamasca lilies were everywhere at the park.

An interesting bug in a tree that only has a scientific name.

Bloodroot and mayapple along the Beech-Magnolia trail.

Red columbine.

An eastern fence lizard as a final reward.

Now on we go further west in Florida and into Alabama. But that’s for tomorrow.