Western Banded Gecko

Posted on May 30, 2015 by tspuckler

This is a small, nocturnal and delicate-looking lizard with large eyes featuring vertical pupils. This lizard’s eyelids are edged in white. Its small scales are granular and soft and its toes are slender.

The tail is about as long as the body and usually has indistinct rings. There is a constriction at the base of the otherwise bulky tail. Males have spurs on either side of the body at the base of the tail.

The Western Banded Gecko occurs in the Mohave and Sonoran deserts and is found in open, arid areas, desert grassland, canyons and hillsides. It is usually associated with rocks or other shelters, but is also is found in sandy dunes.

Active mainly at night, they sometimes can be seen crossing roads during the Summer. When running, they carry their tail curved and over their back. It has been suggested that this mimics the scorpions that share the same habitat.

It avoids the heat of the day by hiding under logs, debris and within moist rock crevices. It can make a squeaking sound if frightened. The tail has specialized fracture planes that allow it to easily break off. However, the regenerated tail is shorter than the original and has different colors, patterns and scales than the original.

The Western Banded Gecko feeds mainly on small insects and spiders. Prey is stalked in a cat-like manner with the lizard often twitching its tail (like a cat); then, with a final lunge, it is captured in the jaws. After a meal, the gecko cleans its face with its tongue. This small reptile is perhaps the most charming of all the desert inhabitants that I regularly come across when visiting the Las Vegas area.

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Jack-in-the-pulpit

Posted on May 23, 2015 by tspuckler

A sure sign of Spring is seeing this unique plant with an interesting growth habit. Its flower structure consists of the spadix (Jack) which is an erect spike containing numerous, tiny, green to purple flowers and the sheath-like spathe (pulpit).

Two large green, compound leaves, divided into three leaflets each, emanate upward from a single stalk and provide umbrella-like shade to the flower. The fleshy stalk and leaves lend an almost tropical aura to the plant (though it can be found through the United States as well as parts of Canada).

As protection, this plant contains a high concentration of crystals of calcium oxalate which is a salt of oxalic acid (COOH), a weak acid that is an ingredient in some bleaches and anti-rust metal cleaners. The chemical is infused throughout the plant, protecting it from ingestion by insects and mammals.

In Autumn, Jack-in-the-Pulpit’s mace-like cluster of red berries at the top of an otherwise bare stem has inspired a plethora of folk names.

Jack-in-the-pulpit is a species requiring shade and is found in rich, moist, deciduous woods and floodplains. It is a long-lived perennial and can live to 25 or more years of age.

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Snail-eating Ground Beetle

Posted on May 17, 2015 by tspuckler

There are a lot of species of beetles. Of those many species, there are over 30,000 species known as ground beetles in 1500 genera world wide. The Snail Eater falls into this group. I encountered this one while on a visit to northern California.

This creature can be found in a variety of habitats, including forests, parks and gardens. It is nocturnal and usually encountered under rocks, logs and the loose bark of downed trees – especially around old, rotting tree stumps and fallen branches.

The Snail-eating Ground Beetle feeds solely on snails and has a narrow head to enable it to better reach its prey.

It defends itself is by squirting yellow acid out of its rear end to startle predators attempting to mess with it. The Snail-eating Ground Beetle can also make a noise when picked up that some describe as a squeak, but others refer to as a metallic hiss.

Both larvae and adults are carnivorous and specialize in eating slugs and snails, as well as eating a range of carrion. They can be found throughout the year, although they hibernate during the coldest winter months.

This is just another example of one of the really cool beetles that can be found by doing a little bit of looking around.

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California Legless Lizard

Posted on May 9, 2015 by tspuckler

This weekend I had an encounter with a reptile that I’ve never seen before. As adults, California Legless Lizards are around 8 inches in total length. They have small, smooth scales typically colored silver above and yellow below. These lizards have blunt tails.

They live in loose, sandy soils or leaf litter, typically in sand dunes along the coast. These unusual lizards burrow easily through the sand and feed on sowbugs, spiders, insects and insect larvae. They are found only in California and northern Baja.

How can a reptile that looks so much like a snake be a lizard? One difference is that the California Legless Lizard has moveable eyelids (something snakes do not have). Also, unlike most snakes, many lizards, they have the ability to purposely detach their tails to avoid being eaten by predators.

Millions of years ago, lizards on five continents independently lost their limbs in order to burrow more quickly into sand or soil, wriggling like snakes. This particular type of reptile is so secretive that in 2013 four new species were discovered in California.

It was awesome to finally see one of these elusive creatures “in person.”

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California Slender Salamander

Posted on May 2, 2015 by tspuckler

This creature is a lungless salamander that is found primarily in coastal mountain areas of Northern California. It is very commonly encountered and I’ve seen several on my current trip to the Golden State.

Its “slender” image comes from short limbs, a long, slender body with a narrow head and a very long tail. This gives them a worm-like appearance.

Like other lungless salamanders, they conduct respiration through their skin and their mouth tissues, which requires them to live in damp environments on land and to move about on the ground only during times of high humidity.

As you might imagine, an animal this small has plenty of predators. For defense. the California Slender Salamander Slender salamanders use several defense tactics, including coiling and remaining still, relying on cryptic coloring to avoid detection.

They also can uncoil quickly and spring away, repeatedly bouncing over the ground, then remaining still again to avoid detection. If grapped this amphibian can detach its tail, which wriggles on the ground to distract a predator from the salamander long enough for it to escape.

They are predators themselves, and use a sit-and-wait technique, catching prey that wanders by with their projectile tongue. Their diet consists of a variety of invertebrates, including springtails, small beetles, snails, mites, spiders and isopods.

The lifestyle of this tiny salamander remind me of one that I frequently encounter in my home state of Ohio – the Redback Salamander. Seeing either amphibian in the field is always an enjoyable experience.

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Spring Beauty

Posted on April 26, 2015 by tspuckler

One of our prettiest and earliest-blooming wildflowers is also a delicious vegetable. It may be the definitive tater tot. Spring Beauties are small, low-to-the-ground wildflowers that feature a star-like cluster of five white to light pink flowers. Closer examination of the petals will reveal an array of fine pink stripes and a pleasant floral fragrance.

It sports grasslike, succulent, dark green leaves that usually occur in pairs. In early spring, and are usually found in pairs. It is noted for its abundance throughout many parts of its range, especially in forests.

Spring Beauty is found in the eastern two-thirds of the United States. One reason for why the spring beauty is so common is its ability to survive in areas that have suffered land degradation such as livestock grazing and partial tree removal.

According to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, Spring Beauties are not only beautiful spring ephemeral, but a tasty spud-like vegetable. The tiny, sweet tubers are high in potassium and vitamin A and are a good source of calcium and vitamin C. They can be eaten raw, boiled, fried, roasted, or mashed.

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Meadow Vole

Posted on April 18, 2015 by tspuckler

While looking for snakes this week I came across a small mammal. The Meadow Vole is a small, common rodent that lives in grassy fields, woodland, marshes, often along lakes and rivers.

This creature is active year-round, usually at night. Meadow Voles make nests in clumps of grass. From their nests, they build tunnels beneath the grass and plants.

The Meadow Vole’s diet includes many things, including grasses, sedges, seeds, flowers, leaves and roots. These animals can eat their weight daily. These mammals occur throughout most of the northern and eastern United States and Canada.

Meadow Voles have a remarkable reproductive output. Females can breed when they are a month old and produce litters of 3-10 pups every three weeks for the duration of their lives. Their typical lifespan is 12-18 months.

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Butler’s Garter Snake

Posted on April 11, 2015 by tspuckler

While visiting the northwestern part of my home state of Ohio, I came across this cool little serpent. It is named after ornithologist Amos W. Butler of Indiana.

This reptile only averages 15-20 inches in total length. Like other garter snakes, it features a pattern of dark stripes; unlike other garter snakes found in its range, it has a small, blunt head.

Butler’s Garter Snakes prefer moist meadows, marshes and lake edges. They subsist on a diet of mainly earthworms, but they may also eat leeches, salamanders and frogs.

These snakes breed in the spring, soon after emerging from hibernation. They produce live offspring which are born in midsummer. Females typically give birth to eight to 10 young.

When frightened, these snakes may wriggle rapidly back and forth with little forward motion, creating an image of more towards thrashing in place, rather than to getting away. It was awesome to encounter this reptile, which does not live in my region of the Buckeye State.

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Wild Onion

Posted on April 5, 2015 by tspuckler

I often see this bulbous herb when hiking in the springtime, as it really stands out against the brown fallen leaves. It has a distinct onion odor, slender grass-like leaves and reaches about 2 feet in height by late summer.

It is thought that the name Chicago is derived from the smell of Wild Onions. The Potawatomi, who were the most powerful tribe around the south end of Lake Michigan, hunted, traded furs, and occasionally camped in the area they called “Checagou,” evidently referring to the garlic wild onion smell which scented the air.

This plant is found in meadows and woodlands in the northeastern and north central United States. Onions and garlic belong to the Lily family. Wild Onions were collected and eaten by Native Americans and by European settlers. Native American tribes also used the plant for other purposes like rubbing the plant on the body for protection from insect bites.

This plant is a Winter perennial; it emerges in late Fall from underground bulbs and grows through the Winter and Spring. Therefore it sight (and smell) can be enjoyed at this time of the year.

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Red-winged Blackbird

Posted on March 28, 2015 by tspuckler

One of the most abundant birds across North America, and one of the most boldly colored, the Red-winged Blackbird is a familiar sight atop cattails and around areas with water.

Glossy-black males have scarlet-and-yellow shoulder patches. Females are a subdued, streaky brown, looking like a large, dark sparrow.

In the North, their arrival and tumbling song are indications of the return of Spring.

There’s variation in Red-winged Blackbirds across the country. The most obvious race is the “bicolored blackbird” of coastal California, which shows no yellow border on its shoulders. Here’s one that I saw in April of last year.

Red-winged Blackbirds are highly social and form flocks all year, though during spring and summer the flocks are small.

This is one of the most easily observable birds. Watching them is fascinating and fun. You’ll never be bored trying to figure out all of their quirks and songs.

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Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Yearly Archives: 2015

Western Banded Gecko

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Snail-eating Ground Beetle

California Legless Lizard

California Slender Salamander

Spring Beauty

Meadow Vole

Butler’s Garter Snake

Wild Onion

Red-winged Blackbird