Chinese Mantis.

I found two Timber Rattlesnakes on the trip a few minutes apart.

A large Cottonmouth.

I went to Missouri again to find my first "lifer" of the trip - Three-toed Box Turtle.

American Beauty Berry.

A young Copperhead, still sporting a bit of yellow on its tail.

An Obscure Bird Grasshopper.

Aromatic Aster.

A Red-ear Slider/River Cooter combo.

A Sweetheart Underwing Moth that was on the wall of a nature center that I visited.

Southern Illinois herp habitat.

A Midland Water Snake "periscoping."

Midland Painted Turtles do not seem to be as common as Red-ear Sliders in this area.

The Question Mark Butterfly is found primarily in wooded areas that have open spaces, such as city parks and fence rows.

A Five-lined Skink basking on the lakeshore.

Melanistic Red-ear Slider.

The gangly Double-crested Cormorant is a prehistoric-looking, matte-black diving bird with yellow-orange facial skin.

A Plainbelly Water Snake at sunset.

Click here to see Part 5