Junonia found on Sanibel
Tonya Lewis, of Lexington, Georgia, was walking in knee-deep water near Bowman’s Beach on June 25 at about 4 p.m. when she found her first junonia shell. She was with her friend, Terri Rogers, who is also pictured. The minute Lewis saw the shell, she knew what it was. She immediately picked it up and started jumping up and down and screaming. Lewis explained that it is her third visit to Sanibel with family and friends. It was during her first visit five years ago that her passion to find a junonia was ignited. After two visits with tons of time spent looking, Lewis started to doubt if it was a real thing or just an island myth. But the more she read about it, the more she became dedicated and determined to find one. Lewis said she has no words for how excited she is to finally find a junonia. Now that she has her first, she hopes it will not be her last. Lewis said she will continue to search for the shell every time she visits the islands.