Jump to content

Colin - STAPUFT

UBL Approved Group
  • Posts

    4157
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Colin - STAPUFT

  1. Check this dude out. I nearly stepped on him when I went out to get the USB out of the van. He was moving awful slow. I think it is just a bit too early for him to be out, but with our quick warm up today and all the rain- I think he got confused.

    484852_10200625556119628_1256020697_n.jp

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spotted_salamander

    I see a lot of those guys in the mulch beds.

    Cool little critters. They breed in vernal pools. They migrate once it gets up to 50 degrees at night (after winter) and raining makes it even more likely migrate (when you see them out of the ground.) they will only live about 200yards out and around that pool. After they breed they burrow into the ground and you "normally" don't see them any other time.

    had a lot of fun in Zo class learning about them. set traps and caught them by the hundreds. all were released back into the pool though. teacher would let us take traps home to see if we could catch any in bodies of water we had around the house.

    these are Jefferson salamanders - technically not. they are mostly Silvery iirc ALL females. it was a genetic error, and now they are mostly females. but can breed with Jeff males.

    Jeffsalamanders_zpsad74da00.jpg

    salamanders_zps379b721c.jpg

    IMG_5105_zpsa1e1f039.jpg

    up close

    IMG_5103_zpsdc3aab4e.jpg

    A slew of Spotteds we caught

    salamanders_zps379b721c.jpg

    IMG952012031395092611_zpsbdf036d1.jpg

    and PLEASE if you guys ever do find one, WET your hands (wipe them in wet grass or something), their bodies need to stay moist.

    and WASH your hands once you are done messing with it. They secrete an alkaline substance from their body. can really irritate your eyes etc.

    That's cool stuff man. This is the first one of these I have seen around here. And I've lived here for 34 years- 9 years in this house. I didn't touch him. I suspected that some evil might befall him or me, so I grabbed a quick pick and let him do his thing. :D

    • Like (+1 Rep) 1
×
×
  • Create New...