Pets/Wildlife

Miss Mittens is a petite Cornish Rex. “Mitt,” for short, is curious and smart, but due to her lack of fur, she is always rather cold. She has a passion for heated blankets and can complete skillful acrobatics when playing with her wand toy. Miss Mittens lives with Lillian Woeste in Lutz.

Carol Wolfe snapped this photo of a white peacock butterfly near her home on Lake Le Clare Road in Lutz. Wolfe said she has lived on the same property for 49 years and has seen many birds, butterflies, insects, frogs, owls, foxes and more. White peacock butterflies stay low to the ground because their favorite plants also are low to the ground. This type of butterfly is very common in Central America and the Caribbean, as well as southern Texas and Florida.

Cathy Vitone caught this honeybee, covered in pollen, hard at work on her ligustrum bush at her home in Land O’ Lakes. No doubt about how bad seasonal allergies can be here! Honeybees are important pollinators for flowers, fruits and vegetables. They live on stored honey and pollen all winter. All honeybees are social and cooperative insects.

Veena Jadeja noticed this perched hawk during an early morning walk in the Seven Oaks community in Wesley Chapel — perhaps it was on the lookout for breakfast. These ‘forest’ hawks hunt prey ranging from mice to frogs and snakes.

Bonnie Caston, of Zephyrhills, snapped this ‘optical illusion’ photo — it appears the soft shell turtle’s head is coming out of the side of its neck. Maybe there is one turtle on top of another? In reality, only a single turtle was sitting by the water. 

John Black snapped this photo of a male and female Eastern bluebird in his backyard, in Land O’ Lakes. Nesting season has begun and Black has two bluebird boxes in his yard. This pair has already started building a nest in one of the boxes.

Dave Maynard captured this photo of a pileated woodpecker in San Antonio. The pileated woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. These birds whack at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey (carpenter ants), leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. On occasion, pileated woodpeckers will visit backyard bird feeders, especially for suet.

Katrina Stitt snapped this photo of a snowy egret at Anclote River Park. These egrets usually wade in shallow water to spear fish and other small aquatic animals. While they employ a sit-and-wait technique to capture their food, sometimes they are much more animated, running back and forth through the water with their wings spread, chasing their prey.

Medina (Mimi) and Abruzzi (Brewski) are both 17 years old and were found on their owner’s doorstep at 3 weeks old and scared. They both have brought much joy and they radiate sunshine when a family member is ill. Unfortunately, Brewski passed away recently due to diabetes, and his sweet little sister Mimi is very needy now. Their owner, Sharon Cantrell of Land O’ Lakes, said there are just no words for a pet’s love.

Christopher Horton, of Thonotosassa, captured this photo of a mourning dove at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park in Tampa. The mourning dove’s soft call, which gives the bird its name, is a sad-sounding ‘cooOOoo-woo-woo-woooo,’ and one of the most familiar bird sounds. Those unfamiliar with this plaintive, hooting vocalization often think they are hearing a Great Horned Owl or other owl species.