A spicebush swallowtail butterfly (Papilio troilus) uncharacteristically sitting still on a plant in my backyard.

1915 Chuli Nene, Tallahassee, Florida: Friday, 04 September 2020

part of the Home Wildlife album

Box turtle (Terrapene carolina) Epsilon quaternarily documented in my backyard on Sunday, 06 September 2020.

1915 Chuli Nene, Tallahassee, Florida: Sunday, 06 September 2020

part of the Home Wildlife album

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With images of box turtles (Terrapene carolina) appearing on the signage and newsletter for the Indian Head Acres neighborhood, there was no surprise when I first spotted them in my yard. However, it was not until I started documenting them in April 2020 that I realized just how many individuals were making my home their home, at least part of the time.

Given the novice status of my herpetology and that many of the subjects exhibit characteristics of one or more subspecies — Florida box turtle (Terrapene carolina bauri), Gulf Coast box turtle (Terrapene carolina major), Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) — I decided to forego making final species determinations for the moment.

From Thursday, 02 April 2020 through Sunday, 07 March 2021, I documented sixteen individual box turtles.

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta
5. Epsilon
6. Zeta
7. Eta
8. Theta
9. Iota
10. Kappa
11. Lambda
12. Mu
13. Nu
14. Xi
15. Omicron
16. Pi

001  Turtle Alpha

First documented Thursday, 02 April 2020

• Skin yellow speckled; dark circle top of head
• Shell significant damage and wear both sides
• Pattern mostly yellow with dark lines
• Larger; curious
• View Photographs

1. 2020-04-02
2. 2020-04-09
3. 2020-04-23
4. 2020-09-06
5. 2020-09-16
6. 2020-10-01

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002  Turtle Beta

First documented Wednesday, 08 April 2020

• Skin mostly darker
• Shell edge damage all-around
• Pattern yellow handprint-style with large dark spaces
• Once caught on chain-link fence
• View Photographs

1. 2020-04-08
2. 2020-04-16
3. 2020-04-17

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003  Turtle Gamma

First documented Wednesday, 08 April 2020

• Skin dark with a few lighter spots
• Shell no damage noted
• Pattern dark with small yellow areas and yellow spine lines
• Small
• View Photographs

1. 2020-04-08

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004  Turtle Delta

First documented Thursday, 09 April 2020

• Skin mostly dark with yellow spots behind eyes, on nose, under chin
• Shell no damage noted; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern mostly light yellow with dark handprints
• Fast walker; once mounted by Turtle Epsilon; once walked up to me
• View Photographs

1. 2020-04-09
2. 2020-04-16
3. 2020-04-28
4. 2020-04-29
5. 2020-05-20
6. 2020-07-07
7. 2020-07-28
8. 2020-08-31
9. 2020-09-15
10. 2020-09-18
11. 2020-10-05

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005  Turtle Epsilon

First documented Sunday, 31 May 2020

• Skin yellow speckled throughout with some white on chin
• Shell damaged area center rear
• Pattern yellow speckles on dark
• Once ate discarded bread; once mounted Turtle Delta; once seen with Eta; once battled with Omicron
• View Photographs

1. 2020-05-31
2. 2020-06-04
3. 2020-07-28
4. 2020-09-06
5. 2020-10-07
6. 2020-10-14
7. 2020-10-29

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006  Turtle Zeta

First documented Sunday, 07 June 2020

• Skin dark with some yellow speckles
• Shell no damage noted
• Pattern yellow handprint-style; thick yellow spine lines
• View Photographs

1. 2020-06-07

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007  Turtle Eta

First documented Friday, 12 June 2020

• Skin dark with some yellow; white around mouth; textured neck
• Shell no damage noted
• Pattern moderate yellow; thick yellow spine lines
• Pointy overbite; once seen with young Xi; once seen with Epsilon
• View Photographs

1. 2020-06-12
2. 2020-09-15
3. 2020-09-16
4. 2020-09-29
5. 2020-10-07
6. 2020-10-08

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008  Turtle Theta

First documented Friday, 12 June 2020

• Skin mostly dark with lighter areas on head
• Shell no damage noted; very pronounced spine lines
• Pattern mostly dark with yellow areas; yellow spine lines
• Small; shy
• View Photographs

1. 2020-06-12
2. 2020-07-10
3. 2020-07-28
4. 2020-08-27
5. 2020-09-03
6. 2020-09-14
7. 2020-09-18

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009  Turtle Iota

First documented Tuesday, 28 July 2020

• Skin dark with yellow spotting on head, dots on neck
• Shell indentation near rear; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern mostly dark with yellow areas; yellow spine lines
• Curious
• View Photographs

1. 2020-07-28
2. 2020-10-01
3. 2020-10-07
4. 2020-10-14

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010  Turtle Kappa

First documented Tuesday, 28 July 2020

• Skin dark with light neck and mouth area; large spots behind eyes
• Shell no damage noted; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern mostly dark with yellow areas; yellow spine lines
• View Photographs

1. 2020-07-28

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011  Turtle Lambda

First documented Friday, 28 August 2020

• Skin dark with slightly lighter face
• Shell indentations middle and rear; edges worn left front and rear
• Pattern light yellow speckles on dark; rear faded; yellow spine lines
• Curious; once buried rear in dirt
• View Photographs

1. 2020-08-28

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012  Turtle Mu

First documented Monday, 31 August 2020

• Skin dark with spots on head and legs; lighter chin
• Shell no damage noted; leading edges ribbed
• Pattern yellow handprint-style with dark spaces
• View Photographs

1. 2020-08-31

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013  Turtle Nu

First documented Monday, 31 August 2020

• Skin dark with some lighter spots
• Shell no damage noted; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern mostly dark with yellow areas; yellow spine lines
• Shy
• View Photographs

1. 2020-08-31
2. 2020-09-08
3. 2020-09-16
4. 2020-09-18
5. 2020-09-24

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014  Turtle Xi

First documented Tuesday, 29 September 2020

• Skin dark
• Shell no damage noted; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern dark with yellow spot pattern
• Initially very small; first seen with Turtle Eta
• View Photographs

1. 2020-09-29

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015  Turtle Omicron

First documented Tuesday, 29 September 2020

• Skin dark with lighter spots on chin and back of head
• Shell tented; lighter worn spot left rear; thick leading edge
• Pattern yellow handprint-style with dark spaces; yellow spine lines; once battled with Epsilon
• View Photographs

1. 2020-09-29
2. 2020-10-29

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016  Turtle Pi

First documented Monday, 01 March 2021

• Skin dark with lighter spots on chin
• Shell no damage noted; pronounced spine lines
• Pattern yellow handprint-style with smaller marks; yellow spine lines
• First turtle sighting of 2021
• View Photographs

1. 2021-03-01

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