In our neck of the woods… more critters found near our home

The first photo is an EASTERN MILKSNAKE. Milksnakes are actually a type of kingsnake. They got their name from an old myth that these snakes get into barns, latch on to the teats of cows, and suck out the milk. I’m not kidding. Of course it isn’t true, but farmers may have come up with this because they found milksnakes in their barn (the snakes were actually there to feed on mice). Maybe a farmer was frustrated by a cow that wasn’t producing enough milk, then blamed it on a snake found nearby? Milksnakes are an example of Batesian mimicry, in which a harmless species resembles a harmful species as a form of protection. Many of the 24 subspecies of milksnakes overlap with venomous coral snakes. The resemblance is unmistakable. However, Missouri does not have coral snakes. But our eastern milksnake is still considered a mimic of the copperhead, even though the colors don’t match. In this case, it is the patterns that are similar. Remember, not all predators can see colors, but they can see patterns, and the eastern milksnake’s pattern is close enough to a copperhead’s pattern to fool some animals into leaving the snake alone.

The second photo is a WESTERN WORM SNAKE. Few people ever see these snakes because they live in the soil and under rocks and logs. Their bright pink belly is a striking feature. These harmless little snakes have a hard, pointy tip at the end of their tail, and when attacked, they will poke the attacker with this tip, which sometimes startles the attacker, allowing the snake to escape. Because of this, some people claim this snake can sting. But this isn’t really a sting because the snake has no venom in its tail. In fact, the tail won’t even pierce skin. Another defense is, when picked up, they wriggle like crazy, making them hard to hold. A third defense is, like some other snakes, they secrete bad-smelling gunk when picked up. Trust me, it’s nasty stuff. Worm snakes love to eat earthworms, which they grab by one end and swallow alive.

Gotta love snakes, am I right?

Photo Credits:
Milk snake and worm snake - Stan C. Smith