This is a red-bellied snake.
They're actually a snake you want to encourage to be around.
They do not bite and they eat insects and slugs.
I figure they have a den underneath the slab of the machine shed somewheres.
They are most welcome to den-up under the shed since my vast garden is immediately alongside.
It's a sure sign of spring when you start to see the herptiles thaw-out and make themselves known.
What is way more cool than that is the sound of the spring peepers.
They started tonight.
As I post this there is an absolute cacophony of peeping.
The peeper - Pseudacris crucifer - is a welcome sound and heralds the end of winter.
One of the very first frogs to call in the spring.
Of course the mallards and geese in the big pond have preceded this little fella. So I knew spring was here.
Anyway, if you were to find one of these amphibians you would notice a large X on its back.
This is how it earned its name - the Latin species crucifer or cross bearer.
Photos courtesy of WDNR
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It seems I don't see the number of snakes and frogs like I used to when I was younger, or maybe I just quit looking...those are cool pics.
ReplyDeleteI have a fondness for herps.
ReplyDeleteThere was one additional voice in the frog chorale last night. I haven’t quite placed it yet.
If there are plenty of them around that is usually a sign that all is well on the land. They’re really like a canary on a coal mine – only not so fuzzy.
A half-dozen years ago we caught a fox snake – all four feet of it. That is as cool as I gets.
I wish I could take credit for the pictures (see tiny footnote).