Wildlife of South Jacksonville: Hawkmoths, Skinks and Spiders

This guide covers the southern side of Jacksonville, Florida, near the St. Johns River, where suburban gardens sit beside patches of moist woodland. The author's sightings here are small, everyday creatures: a Pink-spotted Hawkmoth visiting flowering plants, a Southeastern Five-lined Skink in damp wooded ground, and an Agrarian Sac Spider in an urban setting. All sightings were made over three days in August, spread across the afternoon, dusk and late night. The skink turned up in mid-afternoon warmth, the hawkmoth at dusk around 7 pm, and the spider late at night around 11 pm, so it pays to look at different times of day. This is a virtual guide written by someone who has watched wildlife here, not a tour. You get the author's notes on each species and can message the author with questions about timing and habitat. Sightings are never guaranteed.