SOUTHEAST

March 2004

Click on any photo to see a larger version                                                                                                                                  DM photos courtesy of Danny Mendez

 

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          This trip originated with an unexpected e-mail, thanks to a report on this website. 

 

            “I sure enjoyed your Costa Rica adventures,” the message began.  Then, referring to the Peanut-head Bug (or Machaca) pictured in my July 2003 trip, the writer went on to explain that, at least according to one account, “if a girl is stung by a Machaca, she must go to bed with her boyfriend within 24 hours or she will die".  

 

            Who knew?  Gotta love a reader with an eye for details.

 

            Seems my correspondent was planning a trip to the tropics, and after discovering my CR reports on-line, he wrote for advice on herping Costa Rica.  We began a friendly correspondence and I learned that Richard lives surrounded by “some serious Canebrake country.”  Well, that certainly got my attention!  I’ve always admired the beautiful southern variety of Timber Rattlesnake but had never seen one in the wild.  For years my brother Ron and I talked about going  to South Carolina and Georgia in search of a Canebrake, so when Richard issued an invitation to come on down --- closing with the magic words “almost a sure thing” --- we knew where our next trip would be.

 

          Drove with my friend Danny to Ron’s house in North Carolina.  Figured we’d start herping right away, so before heading to SC we checked out a near-by ephemeral pond that's a breeding site for Spotted Salamanders.  The bottom was scattered with little white pyramids of sperm packets, indicating that males had already been in the water a few days before. The next warm, wet night would bring the females in a mass congregation, but that evening was still a bit too cool. Nevertheless, we did find a few ambitious ambystomids making their way to the pond in advance of the big night, known to local observers as "the lusty frolic". 

 

            This female was marching through the leaf litter down toward the water.  As you can see, she's completely bloated with eggs.

 

 

 

 

Spotted Salamander

Ambystoma maculatum



           

            Once they enter the water, the females position themselves above a spermatophore and grasp it with their over-sized cloacal claspers. The eggs are fertilized, then deposited in a mass anchored to a submerged twig or a mat of leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            After they finish breeding, the females emerge from the water looking considerably depleted (sort of like little stretched-out accordions) but judging from the smile on their face, one suspects they leave satisfied.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            Next morning we drove to South Carolina in search of our first target, Scarlet Kingsnakes.   Danny’s SUV was stuffed with all our gear --- cameras, snake hooks, MoonPies, etc. --- but our most valuable piece of equipment was affixed to the front dash:  a totem of our guardian spirit (courtesy of USPS) in supplication for a successful hunt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            You think I’m kidding about most valuable?  Well, we arrived at our first stop, a stand of longleaf pines.   Approached our first tree, a long-dead snag with just a bit of remaining bark . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

. . . and were rewarded with this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scarlet Kingsnake

Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides

 

 

            The very first attempt at our very first site, and we immediately score our first target!  Behold the power of postage.

 

            A few minutes later Danny is checking out a different tree, going through the exfoliating bark, when out falls another one!  Just as Richard had described in his e-mails, “ they drop like wonderful scaly candy to the ground.”

 

 

 

                                                                                                                              DM

 

 

 

 

 

            Feeling totally spoiled, we decided to move on after an hour passed and no more snakes were found.  We came to an abandoned shack with tin and boards scattered in the woods, and spotted a large Green Anole wearing his conservative suit, the nice brown one that goes so well with wooden walls.

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                              DM

 

Green Anole

Anolis carolinensis

 

 

 

            More daring were these flashy ladybugs decked out in fashionable warning colors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

            In the woods we found amphibians keeping moist beneath rotting logs . . .

 

 

 

 

Slimy Salamander

Plethodon glutinosus

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                               DM

 

Pine Woods Tree Frog (?)

Hyla femoralis

 

 

. . . and under boards in the collapsed building we discovered Skinks.  Usually slippery and fast and eager to escape, but on this day cold and quite willing to pose (though happy still to bite the hand that seized them).

 

 

 

 

Five-Lined or Southeastern Five-Lined Skink (?)

Eumeces fasciatus or inexpectatus

Juvenile (with blue tail) and adults

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                              DM

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     DM

 

 

 

SOUTHEAST

March 2004

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