Emily Keen
@emilykeenphoto.bsky.social
𓆣 Fan of wildlife & nature • Scientist & Photographer • Based in FL with my Husband & Pup 𓆌
YouTube: EmilyKeenNature
YouTube: EmilyKeenNature
What's one of your comfort films?
November 15, 2024 at 1:48 AM
What's one of your comfort films?
It’s spring in our FL garden! Red & Black Mason Wasps (Pachodynerus erynnis) are active & mating!
March 8, 2024 at 4:33 PM
It’s spring in our FL garden! Red & Black Mason Wasps (Pachodynerus erynnis) are active & mating!
🐝 Mimicry 🪰 This little buddy is not a bee but a FLY! Specifically, a Bee Killer Robber Fly (Laphria floridensis, I believe)! These predacious bee lookalikes feed on honey bees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, and many other types of insects.
March 7, 2024 at 2:24 PM
🐝 Mimicry 🪰 This little buddy is not a bee but a FLY! Specifically, a Bee Killer Robber Fly (Laphria floridensis, I believe)! These predacious bee lookalikes feed on honey bees, bumblebees, carpenter bees, and many other types of insects.
Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea) is a native wildflower here in Florida. Sometimes, the plant is lovingly referred to as “Bog Cheetos”. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has long used this plant medicinally for heart palpitations, body swelling, and more.
March 6, 2024 at 4:06 PM
Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea) is a native wildflower here in Florida. Sometimes, the plant is lovingly referred to as “Bog Cheetos”. The Seminole Tribe of Florida has long used this plant medicinally for heart palpitations, body swelling, and more.
During a wet hike over the weekend, we came across this beautiful Wolf’s Milk (Lycogala epidendrum) — a plasmodial slime mold. While these fruiting bodies kind of resemble fungi, slime molds are not a fungus. They are actually grouped with Protists!
March 5, 2024 at 3:46 PM
During a wet hike over the weekend, we came across this beautiful Wolf’s Milk (Lycogala epidendrum) — a plasmodial slime mold. While these fruiting bodies kind of resemble fungi, slime molds are not a fungus. They are actually grouped with Protists!
Beautiful Paper Wasp collecting some construction materials in the garden for a nest. This cutie found some dirt chunks to pick from & tiny pieces of wood from a trellis to roll together into a ball and take back to the nest.
February 25, 2024 at 3:11 PM
Beautiful Paper Wasp collecting some construction materials in the garden for a nest. This cutie found some dirt chunks to pick from & tiny pieces of wood from a trellis to roll together into a ball and take back to the nest.
Bumblebee feeding from an Azalea in the garden. (One of the few non-native but Florida-friendly plants at the house.)
February 22, 2024 at 6:59 PM
Bumblebee feeding from an Azalea in the garden. (One of the few non-native but Florida-friendly plants at the house.)
Robber Flies are always stealing my heart. I believe this one is a “Bee Panther” (Promachus rufipes) as seen from my property in FL.
February 19, 2024 at 4:13 PM
Robber Flies are always stealing my heart. I believe this one is a “Bee Panther” (Promachus rufipes) as seen from my property in FL.
New article up on my site about safety around gators! As we near gator courting season, some might find this post extra helpful. Check it out! 🐊
Safety Around Alligators in Florida & Beyond
The American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) is a type of large Crocodilian whose greatest populations are found in Louisiana and Florida. However, they are all over the Southeastern United Sta...
emilykeenphoto.com
February 18, 2024 at 9:34 PM
New article up on my site about safety around gators! As we near gator courting season, some might find this post extra helpful. Check it out! 🐊
Pine Warblers are still doing their thing in the garden. 💙
February 18, 2024 at 6:38 PM
Pine Warblers are still doing their thing in the garden. 💙
Reposted by Emily Keen
I love it when a species takes a look at the usual life cycle or behaviours for its group and goes "nah...."
In this case, a spider which lives underwater, males larger than females, AND males eating females*
Meet the Diving Bell / Water Spider:
🧪 #inverts
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
In this case, a spider which lives underwater, males larger than females, AND males eating females*
Meet the Diving Bell / Water Spider:
🧪 #inverts
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
Diving bell spider: The only aquatic arachnid that creates a web underwater to live in
Diving bell spiders are also weird when it comes to sex, with males occasionally gobbling up females in reverse sexual cannibalism.
www.livescience.com
February 16, 2024 at 1:54 PM
I love it when a species takes a look at the usual life cycle or behaviours for its group and goes "nah...."
In this case, a spider which lives underwater, males larger than females, AND males eating females*
Meet the Diving Bell / Water Spider:
🧪 #inverts
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
In this case, a spider which lives underwater, males larger than females, AND males eating females*
Meet the Diving Bell / Water Spider:
🧪 #inverts
www.livescience.com/animals/spid...
Reposted by Emily Keen
Sooooooo many different kinds of bees, a photo gallery.
Bees - Alex Wild
A gallery of bees.
www.alexanderwild.com
February 17, 2024 at 7:13 PM
Sooooooo many different kinds of bees, a photo gallery.
It’s raining out. I’m inside, sipping some espresso and cuddling with the pups (have one extra at the house right now, as we are pup sitting for a family member). I’m getting my scores and comments submitted for a photo contest I’m judging. Grateful for these quiet, cozy days. 🙏
February 17, 2024 at 6:53 PM
It’s raining out. I’m inside, sipping some espresso and cuddling with the pups (have one extra at the house right now, as we are pup sitting for a family member). I’m getting my scores and comments submitted for a photo contest I’m judging. Grateful for these quiet, cozy days. 🙏
Playing with shadows in the swamp 💫
February 16, 2024 at 4:28 PM
Playing with shadows in the swamp 💫
If you see this, post something toothy
February 15, 2024 at 7:04 PM
If you see this, post something toothy
A sunset well spent with Orchard Orbweavers in the garden 💫
February 14, 2024 at 3:24 PM
A sunset well spent with Orchard Orbweavers in the garden 💫
Reposted by Emily Keen
I may have a new favorite caterpillar. Buckleria parvulus (famously?) feeds only on sundews - Tom Eisner worked on them a little. I had never seen one until one of my grad students found one this weekend.
February 13, 2024 at 6:12 PM
I may have a new favorite caterpillar. Buckleria parvulus (famously?) feeds only on sundews - Tom Eisner worked on them a little. I had never seen one until one of my grad students found one this weekend.
Reposted by Emily Keen
In anticipation of this year's mega-emergence, here's a gallery of Magicicada periodical cicadas.
Periodical Cicadas - Alex Wild
Eastern North America is host to an astonishing entomological phenomenon found nowhere else in the world. Cicadas in the genus Magicicada spend 17 years (or, more rarely, 13 years) maturing undergrou...
www.alexanderwild.com
February 13, 2024 at 9:08 PM
In anticipation of this year's mega-emergence, here's a gallery of Magicicada periodical cicadas.
In early December, I observed a squirrel in my garden who was dealing with a bad tapeworm infection. While watching the squirrel, I saw it pass the impressively sized tapeworm, so I got a close-up look. Parasites are wild and endlessly fascinating.
February 13, 2024 at 4:39 PM
In early December, I observed a squirrel in my garden who was dealing with a bad tapeworm infection. While watching the squirrel, I saw it pass the impressively sized tapeworm, so I got a close-up look. Parasites are wild and endlessly fascinating.
Reposted by Emily Keen
This little lump, the size of a small pea, is a brood cell of a pebble bee (Dianthidium sp.). Pebble bees are solitary, and use plant resins to bind together small pebbles/sand grains to form a hollow brood cell for a single larva. From the Mojave Desert this past weekend. #invertebrates 🐙🌿
February 12, 2024 at 6:20 PM
This little lump, the size of a small pea, is a brood cell of a pebble bee (Dianthidium sp.). Pebble bees are solitary, and use plant resins to bind together small pebbles/sand grains to form a hollow brood cell for a single larva. From the Mojave Desert this past weekend. #invertebrates 🐙🌿
Had the pleasure of hanging out with a Black-Crowned Night Heron during a hike in the swamp yesterday. 🫶
February 12, 2024 at 4:14 PM
Had the pleasure of hanging out with a Black-Crowned Night Heron during a hike in the swamp yesterday. 🫶
Happy Superb Owl Sunday to all who celebrate from this Great Horned Owl in Florida.
February 11, 2024 at 8:42 PM
Happy Superb Owl Sunday to all who celebrate from this Great Horned Owl in Florida.
A male Bluebird keeps going into the (empty) Eastern Screech Owl box on our property to steal the wood shavings. Lol. I will never get tired of observing wildlife behavior on our property. One of my greatest joys.
February 10, 2024 at 8:54 PM
A male Bluebird keeps going into the (empty) Eastern Screech Owl box on our property to steal the wood shavings. Lol. I will never get tired of observing wildlife behavior on our property. One of my greatest joys.
Reposted by Emily Keen
Happy #seaspidersaturday everyone. Meet Dodecalopoda mawsonii, a member of the family of giant sea spiders (Colossendeidae) and has 12 legs! This is the only one I’ve ever collected in my many trips to Antarctica and the other pic is of one we saw via the bottom camera on our last cruise! 🦑🧪🌎🧬🐧🇦🇶
February 10, 2024 at 4:26 PM
Happy #seaspidersaturday everyone. Meet Dodecalopoda mawsonii, a member of the family of giant sea spiders (Colossendeidae) and has 12 legs! This is the only one I’ve ever collected in my many trips to Antarctica and the other pic is of one we saw via the bottom camera on our last cruise! 🦑🧪🌎🧬🐧🇦🇶
Dragonfly cannibalism in the home garden. Nature is metal. Lol
February 9, 2024 at 7:43 PM
Dragonfly cannibalism in the home garden. Nature is metal. Lol