Hard Working Decomposers: Carrion Beetles

Posted Oct 17, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

In the month that we celebrate all things macabre, I thought I’d include a post on carrion beetles.

First off, carrion is the carcass of a dead animal. Vultures, hawks, eagles, Virginia opossums and carrion beetles will all eat carrion. Maggots of some flies also eat carrion. It is good that they do eat carrion because they help recycle nitrogen and carbon.

You may also be interested in my post (with cool pictures) of black vultures.

Strangely, this dead opossum was on my driveway one morning. Not sure what killed it.

In addition to eating carrion, carrion beetles eat fly maggots. The flies come to lay their eggs on the carrion. The maggots (if not eaten by carrion beetles) will also feast on the carrion.

Ridged carrion beetles (Oiceoptoma inaequale) on a recently dead opossum.

They will mate (see in photo one beetle on another) and lay eggs. The eggs will hatch into larvae (the babies) and like their parents, eat carrion and fly maggots. Yum yum!

Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) Found In Southern Maryland Yard

Posted Oct 5, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

I came across this little snake (A brown snake -Storeria dekayi) while weeding around my strawberry plants. This area had been neglected and was quite overgrown.

They only grow to be about 12 inches long.

These pictures are of the same snake on the same day. It is interesting the way the patterning looks different in some of the pictures.

Northern brown snakes like this one are live-bearing which means it doesn’t lay eggs.

Know Your Local Snakes: Baby Rat Snake

Posted Sep 28, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | 2 Comments

This cute little snake is a baby black rat snake and is also called an Eastern Rat Snake: Scotophis alleghaniensis). It is harmless. Often people see the pattern on its back and confuse it with a copperhead snake and kill it on site. An adult black rat snake is black on its back and has a white chin.

I found this guy on my porch by my front door yesterday.

In Southern Maryland where I live, the copperhead is the only poisonous snake.

Rat snakes and other non-venomous snakes have round pupils while Copperheads have an elliptical pupil like a cat’s eye. It looks like a small vertical slit in the eye.

If you aren’t sure what kind of snake you are looking at; it’s best to keep your distance.

Here is a guide to Maryland herps: http://www.dnr.state.md.us/wildlife/Plants_Wildlife/herps/index.asp

Osage-orange Ball Craft

Posted Sep 9, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, children's activities (recycled materials), children's crafts (recycled materials), crafts (recycled materials), use for natural stuff: vines, sticks... | 1 Comment

Have fun making moody osage-orange guys. Collect natural materials such as cherry stems, beans, acorns and other seeds… Mix and match to create amusing characters.

An osage-orange (Maclura pomifera)  is a tree not native to Maryland but can be found growing here. My husband remembers having wars with his friends; they would throw them at each other. Boys!

I call this one the Grinch.

I call this one Oscar the Grouch.

I call this one Dude.

Horned Squash Bug In Maryland Garden

Posted Sep 5, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas) | Leave a Comment

I found these horned squash bugs Anasa armigera feeding on my squash and zucchini plants in June. They look similar to leaf-footed bugs but horned squash bugs have two small horns at the base of each antenna that leaf-footed bugs do not have. I hand pick them off or let one of my chickens do it for me.

They can be quite prolific.

Rough Green Snake Opheodrys aestivus in Maryland

Posted Sep 4, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, children's activities (recycled materials) | Leave a Comment

Here is a rough green snake we found near our house in Southern Maryland. The Kids and I enjoyed holding this beautiful snake.

The smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis looks very similar to the rough green snake but if you look closely, the rough green snake Opheodrys aestivus has keeled scales on top. Note the line running down the middle of the scales in the picture.

Our property is near a marsh and has plenty of bushes and trees so it is a great place for this snake.

It is a good climber as you can see in this photo.

The rough green snake is a fun snake for kids to hold because they are so docile. Teach children to be gentle when handling because even the nicest animal will try to bit if it is being hurt.

You can guess what this is. To deter possible predators, snakes will release a foul-smelling substance. Skunks aren’t the only ones to use smell as a deterrent.

Yes, it did stink on us.

Spadefoot Toad Found After Hurricane

Posted Aug 30, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | 1 Comment

Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii)

Look what my daughters found for me when we were cleaning up after Hurricane Irene: a spadefoot toad. I know that I featured this species before but wanted to include it in this year’s posts.

I love the fingers and the webbed feet on this critter.

I’m running out of time to find reptiles and amphibians on my property this year. Next year I think I’ll focus on trees instead. So much nature to explore!

Southern Maryland Reptiles and Amphibians: Male Broad-headed Skink

Posted Jul 10, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

This broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps)  is a male. It is non venomous. Males of this species are easy to identify because their head will turn bright orange during their breeding season. Also, if you compared the head size of a male and a female with similar sized bodies, the head of the male would be larger.

My daughter discovered this guy just outside our house.

Southern Maryland Reptiles and Amphibians: Broad-headed Skink

Posted Jul 10, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, children's activities (recycled materials) | 2 Comments

This is a broad-headed skink that I found recently. Time to look for lizards!

The female broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps) looks similar to the five-lined skink (Plestidon fasciatus). Both have a blue tail when young; the adult females might have a blue tail as well. To distinguish the two species apart, you must look closely at the scales on the upper lip.

A broad-headed skink (Plestiodon laticeps) has 5 scales on its upper lip from the nostril to the corner of its eye. The five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) had four scales.

Southern Maryland Reptiles and Amphibians: Copes Gray Treefrog

Posted Jul 3, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

There are two species of gray treefrogs in Maryland: Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) and Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis). You can’t tell them apart by looking at them. They do however have different calls.

This frog is a Cope’s Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis) found on my deck. I’ve heard its call and the map (link below) confirms its range in Southern MD.

You can hear their calls and see a map of Southern MD showing their ranges here.

Cope’s Gray Treefrog

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