Striped Bark Scorpion

Posted on December 30, 2022 by tspuckler

I found many examples of this cool creature while exploring glades in Missouri. The Striped Bark Scorpion is an extremely common scorpion found throughout the midsection of the United States and northern Mexico. It is perhaps the most frequently encountered scorpion in the United States. It is the only species of scorpion in Missouri.

At less than three inches in total length, the Striped Bark Scorpion is easily identified by being a uniform pale-yellow in color with two dark, longitudinal stripes on its back. Their color and pattern suits their environment well, providing them with a natural camouflage protecting them from predators and hiding them from prey. Another key characteristic to distinguish this species is a dark triangle on top of its head.

Its wide geographic distribution allows it to occupy desert, deciduous and coniferous forest, temperate grassland and glades. During the daytime, Striped Bark Scorpions spend a substantial amount of their time under rock and surface debris, within vegetation, and in weathered rural structures such as old sheds and barns.

Active at night, they hunt and eat arthropods, preferring soft-bodied prey such as spiders, cockroaches, ants, crickets, beetles and moths. Small prey is eaten immediately. Large prey is stung with venom and eaten after it stops moving. This animal’s defense mechanism is to sting while running away. While a sting from this species is very rarely deadly, it is painful and causes localized swelling.

Unlike most species of scorpion, the Striped Bark Scorpion is social, presenting it with more opportunities to mate and compete for mates. Females produce 50 or more young per brood. Born live, the young are carried on her back for five to 15 days. After that time they are on their own. They have a lifespan of two to five years. Although common, this was a neat find!

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Strawberry Bush

Posted on December 23, 2022 by tspuckler

I came across this odd shrub while hiking along the Cache River in southern Illinois in October. This is a native deciduous woody plant that grows 6 to 12 feet tall. It can often be found growing along streams, with its roots anchored in damp, rich soil.

Throughout most of the year the Strawberry Bush lives in obscurity. Even when it is in full bloom, its small yellowish-green blooms are so inconspicuous that they remain hidden in full sight.

During Spring and Summer, the Strawberry Bush is cloaked in lance-shaped leaves. Its seeds are borne in one-inch, warty capsules that typically contain four to five berries. As Summer progresses, the green capsules grow and eventually turn pinkish red.

Sometime during September and October, the capsules split, revealing scarlet-red berries hanging on thread-like filaments. The appearance of the open capsules and red berries apparently gave rise to one of the plant’s alternate names, “Hearts-a-bursting.”

Strawberry Bush’s red, pulpy seeds are devoured by songbirds such as the Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush and Northern Mockingbird. Wild Turkeys and small mammals also dine on the red berries.

Early colonists considered the plant so beautiful that it became one of the first North American plants sent back to Europe for use in ornamental gardens in as early as 1663.

The Strawberry Bush is also known as Wahoo, Burning Bush, Bursting Heart and Hearts-bustin’-with-love.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Speckled Wolf Spider

Posted on December 16, 2022 by tspuckler

While exploring a glades habitat in the “Show Me State,” I came across this awesome creature.

The Speckled Wolf Spider is one of Missouri’s more common species of Wolf Spiders. Key identifiers for it include large size, overall darkish color, banded legs and a narrow pale yellowish line running between the eyes.

Like other members of their family, these are athletic spiders don’t spin webs to catch their insect prey; instead, Wolf Spiders run down their prey like a wolf.

Female Wolf Spiders have remarkable maternal instincts and are often seen carrying around their egg cases. After the young spiders hatch, they ride around on their mother’s back until they are able to be independent.

Wolf Spiders live in a wide range of habitats, basically anywhere where there are insects to eat. They seem to be most common in open habitats like grasslands, and are often found in farm fields and meadows.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Southern Coal Skink

Posted on December 9, 2022 by tspuckler

While herping in a Missouri glade last October, I came across a “lifer” lizard. The Southern Coal Skink is secretive and few people know about it. This lizard is small, shiny and brownish-tan with broad, dark stripes down its sides.

This reptile occurs in forests near streams, rivers or sloughs. It is also found in rocky, open glades and seems to prefer open, damp, rock-strewn woods where it takes shelter under logs, leaf litter and rocks.

Southern Coal Skinks eat various arthropods including termites, ant larvae, beetles, crickets and earthworms. Young skinks typically have blue tails (which change color as the lizard ages) and are often called “scorpions,” because they are thought to have a venomous sting. This myth is false (although a large skink can deliver a powerful nip).

Skinks are among many lizards that easily shed their tails and regrow new ones. This self-amputation is called autotomy. Scientists studying the molecular and cellular workings of tail regeneration in lizards may one day help humans overcome spinal cord injuries.

The Southern Coal Skink was a super-cool find while on my autumn adventure.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Tadpole Madtom

Posted on December 2, 2022 by tspuckler

While visiting Southern Illinois last October, I found a few examples of a neat fish that I had never encountered before. A tiny catfish, an adult Tadpole madtom is typically 2–3 inches long – however they have been recorded to reach a length of 5 inches.

This species lives in the pools and backwaters of sluggish creeks and rivers, as well as in shallow areas of lakes. It avoids fast rocky streams and usually is found near rocks or debris over a soft substrate. Its range includes most of the eastern United States.

These catfish, as well as the other Madtoms, can inflict a painful puncture wound with the spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins. When one is stung or pricked by one of the spines, there is a burning sensation similar to a bee or wasp sting.

Like many catfish species, Madtoms have venom glands at the base of these fins. The glands secrete venom that becomes incorporated in the slime and cells that make up the spine. This is a useful defense mechanism to keep it from being eaten by predators.

Like others in its family, it is nocturnal and relies on its sensory “whiskers” (called barbels) to find its favorite foods. The Tadpole Madtom feeds on insects and other invertebrates, as well as occasionally consuming algae and aquatic plants.

It was a really neat experience to meet this very cool fish while visiting the “Land of Lincoln.”

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racer

Posted on November 23, 2022 by tspuckler

I found a couple examples of this serpent while visiting the “Show Me State” last month. Although it is capable of reaching 5 feet, the average adult tends to be about 3 feet in length.

The color of this smooth-scaled, slender snake is uniform but variable — from olive, tan, brown, or blue to gray or nearly black. The belly may be yellow, cream or light blue-gray.

Like other American Racers, juveniles are tan or gray and marked with gray or brown blotches and spots on the back, and smaller, alternating spots on the sides. As the young snakes grow, the markings fade and eventually disappear by the third year.

Active during daytime, these reptiles live in prairies, grasslands, pastures, brushy fields, open woods and along the edges of forests. In Spring and Fall, they are often seen on rocky, wooded, south-facing hillsides, which is where they overwinter (if they do not overwinter in a mammal burrow in an open habitat).

Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racers hunt frogs, lizards, snakes, small rodents, birds and insects. Despite the Latin name, Coluber constrictor, racers are not constrictors. They simply overpower their prey. They use their speed and agility to catch prey — as well as to escape their own predators.

It was an awesome experience to find an adult and juvenile version of this snake, which I had never encountered in the wild before, while on my trip.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Western Slimy Salamander

Posted on November 18, 2022 by tspuckler

I came across several of these cool creatures on my visit to Missouri last month. The Western Slimy Salamander is a black to blue-black, medium-sized woodland salamander with a long, rounded tail and numerous silvery flecks irregularly distributed over the head, back, limbs and tail.

This amphibian is in a group of some 13 closely related species called the Plethodon glutinosus complex; at one time these were all considered a single species, the Slimy Salamander. The Western Slimy Salamander is the only member of this group that occurs in Missouri.

They are most active on the surface during cooler, wet conditions in the Spring and Fall. During the hot Summer months they are difficult to find, since they retreat underground into cool, moist caves, or find damp places by burrowing into large piles of leaf litter.

Western Slimy Salamanders feed on a wide variety of arthropods, including ants, beetles, flies, worms insect larva and pill bugs. They can reach nearly 8 inches in total length, but most individuals vary from about 4 to 7 inches. Much of that length is because of its long tail.

This salamander has an interesting defense mechanism. When handled, it produces a thick, sticky substance from glands in its skin. The substance is not only extremely sticky, but is also very difficult to clean. This ploy prevents it from being eaten by snakes and other potential predators.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Predaceous Diving Beetle

Posted on November 11, 2022 by tspuckler

Although they are found in my home state of Ohio, I most often see these cool beetles when I retrieve my minnow traps in southern Illinois.

This is a decent-sized insect with an adult maximum length of about 1-1/2 inches. It’s body is streamlined and oval in shape.

Predaceous Diving Beetles prefer quiet water at the edges of ponds and streams, where they float gently among weeds. Before diving, they trap air between their wings and body, which prolongs their time spent under water.

Their hindlegs are fringed with hairs and flattened for swimming; when swimming, they kick both hind legs simultaneously. Not only are they good swimmers, but they are also strong fliers that can fly away to a new waterway if the pond they live in dries up.

Fierce predators, these beetles do not hesitate to attack prey larger then themselves, including small fish, tadpoles and frogs. Their sharp jaws inject enzymes that digest their prey, so that the juices can be ingested by the beetle.

Species in this genus of beetle are edible and were enjoyed both in pre-settlement days and on tacos in present-day Mexico. They have been “farmed” for human consumption in various parts of Asia and have been used medicinally in China.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Mist Flower

Posted on November 4, 2022 by tspuckler

This is a cool member of the Aster Family that I saw on my visit to southern Illinois last month. It is a late Summer-to-Fall blooming herbaceous perennial that is native to the Eastern United States.

Also known as Wild Ageratum, it bears fluffy-looking, delicate flowers that are colored in pastel shades of pink, lavender or blue; it often occurs in large stands.

Mist Flower occurs in bottomland forests, swamps, the banks of streams and rivers, the edges of ponds and lakes, marshes, ditches, gardens, railroads, roadsides and shaded-to-open disturbed areas.

Butterflies, Skippers and Long-tongued Bees are strongly attracted to the flowers. Other insects eat the foliage. Not many mammals eat this plant, because of its bitter taste.

Other occasional visitors include Short-tongued bees, various flies, moths and beetles. These insects primarily seek nectar, although the bees often collect pollen as well.

Mistflower is often grown as a garden plant, although it does have a tendency to spread and take over a garden. It is recommended for habitat restoration within its native range, especially in wet soils.

This plant is closely related to the white-flowered Bonesets.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Lined Snake

Posted on October 28, 2022 by tspuckler

This month when visiting the “Show Me State,” I came across my first-ever Lined Snake while exploring a glades habitat in Missouri.

This small, secretive serpent looks similar to a Garter Snake. It is mainly brown to grayish brown with three light stripes, one along the middle of the back, plus two on the sides. The belly is white with two distinct rows of half-moon shapes.

Normally active from April through October, Lined Snakes hide during the day under rocks, logs, and other debris, becoming active at night.

This snake lives in a wide variety of habitats, such as prairies, glades, empty lots in towns and suburbs, near old trash dumps, along highways where there is abundant debris for shelter, and in open, rocky woodlands.

This species, which is typically about a foot long, feeds almost exclusively on earthworms. It was very cool to see this snake “in person” for the first time while on my herping trip.

Third Eye Herp
E-mail

Tim Spuckler's Blog

Reptile Ramblings and More

Yearly Archives: 2022

Striped Bark Scorpion

Strawberry Bush

Speckled Wolf Spider

Southern Coal Skink

Tadpole Madtom

Eastern Yellow-Bellied Racer

Western Slimy Salamander

Predaceous Diving Beetle

Mist Flower

Lined Snake