Junonias found on Captiva
Carl Ladd, his father Steve Ladd and his sister Claire Ladd, all of Franklin, Tennessee, each found a junonia on March 11 around midday on Captiva. He reported that there were piles of shells along the beach from the storms, and his father found the first junonia in a pile and gave it to one of his grandchildren to hand to Ladd’s brother. As he was doing that, Ladd was in the shallow surf and looked down to see a junonia roll by his feet. He immediately reached down, grabbed it and hollered, “Just found the shell of the day.” Not knowing what his brother was holding, they showed each other at the same time in astonishment. When the family went back to the same area a short time later, Ladd’s sister found one. He shared that the family has stayed on the islands multiple times and always love shelling, but they never found a junonia. “We did more digging the rest of the week but no more luck. We found all sorts of shells though from alphabet cones to horse conchs,” Ladd said. “A great week of shelling, by far our best.” To report a shell find, contact 239-472-1587 or trepecki@breezenewspapers.com.