Coquinas, not Periwinkles

Atlantic Coquinas on Florida's panhandle shores.

The Atlantic Coquina is small but mighty as a highly beneficial bi-valve that lives most of its life at the edge of the shoreline catching food particles in the tides. Someone in the south once called them periwinkles, and the some of the old timers ran with it...however, knowledge is power, so we like to call attention to these tiny wonderful shells. 

Coquina's make the best butterflies! 

One of my favorite creations comes from these multicolored shells.  Coquinas come in all shades of colors and patterns including plaid squares and stripes.  I really love collecting them after a good storm.  Mostly shorebirds and crabs find them as a tasty part of their diet once they've been beached, leaving a nice clean butterfly like shell.  While they may be similar in their colors and patterns, to find two that are completely identical is very hard to do.  Most of the time, they'll be close enough, but still not fully identical......