Back in early May of this year, a small group from the WGNSS Nature Photography Group headed out to visit some glades in Washington County, Missouri. Being a relatively wet and cool spring, we expected the glades to be lush and full of blooming wildflowers. These specialized blooming plants and their associated pollinators were our planned primary targets for this beautiful Saturday.
Unfortunately for us, the timing of our visit did not seem to be optimal. We found very few plants in bloom and even fewer interesting butterflies and skippers that we were hoping to find. However, I noticed something about this particular glade that Casey had steered us into. Looking around, I noticed that there was very little sign that foot traffic or rock tipping had occurred recently – something that plagues the more popular glades in Missouri.
Normally, I loathe the thought of rock-tipping – the process of lifting rocks in sunny natural areas in order to find reptiles, amphibians and arthropods. As I alluded to above, this activity can be highly over-practiced and is often accompanied by people harassing or collecting the animals found. In large and popular glades, the signs of rock tipping can be abundantly clear. Just look for large flat rocks that have obviously been moved and are no longer in close contact with their underlying soil substrate. In this case, because we were on the lookout for improvised subjects and the fact that this area has not seen much pressure from others, we decided to carefully tip a few to see what we might find.
Little did I know what a treat we were in for. With tipping over just a few stones, we were able to find close to 20 prairie ring-neck snakes (Diadophis punctatus arnyi), including one albino! The prairie ring-neck is a small, slender snake native to prairies and other grasslands in the central United States.
These snakes can reach up to 14 inches in length, but seem much smaller due to their slender build. This species primarily feeds on small invertebrates such as earthworms, slugs, and insects, but may also consume small amphibians and other reptiles. The prairie ring-neck snake is considered an opisthoglyphous colubrid, meaning they possess small fangs in the rear of their mouths along with a very mild venom. They are completely harmless to humans as they will very rarely attempt to bite, relying instead on a foul-smelling musk that they emit along with exposing their orange and red warning colors on their undersides in order to dissuade predators. On rare reports of bites to humans, the reaction has been described as a mild discomfort or stinging sensation, akin to a nettle sting or a sting from a sweat bee.
Rock tipping can also yield a number of interesting invertebrates. Although we did not find any tarantulas or black widows that can be found in this manner, we did find Missouri’s only scorpion and a common centipede.
When we were done with our subjects we made sure they all found their way back safely underneath their rock dwellings.
-OZB
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 