Herping the Siouxland

Eastern Milksnake: These medium sized snakes are nearly identical to Fox Snakes including size, habits and coloration. However...they belong to an entirely different group: (Lampropeltis triangulum) The name "Milksnake" originated from the southern Appalachian region where farmers were convinced that their Cows were being milked dry by these 3-4 foot long snakes. An erroneous belief...for all snakes have lots of very tiny very Sharp teeth that no Cow in the world would stand for! It's more likely that they were in the barns hunting for Mice. (Of which they consume a great many of every Summer) These snakes also eat a wide variety of prey items including: Mice, small Rats, nestling Birds, eggs, Frogs and Other Snakes!!! The Milksnakes in south central Minnesota are renowned for being the most dull, colorless variety in the whole upper mid-west! (In other parts of the country they exhibit a wide array of reds, tans, gold and even a rare  "greenish" color phase. (The individual to the left portrays the most common color variety around here. The rust colored one up above was the prettiest one I've ever seen!) However...They seem to have a subdued beauty all their own as adults. Hatchlings, on the other hand, often times have brilliant Red blotches on a creamy white background. These snakes are probably the most rarely seen of all our snakes. They might be a lot more common than we think. The only problem is they are experts at hiding! They spend most of the daytime buried just below the surface in the grass and leaf litter and apparently only come out at night during the hot Summer months. About the only time you'll ever see one of these is late in the year (Indian Summer) when hatchlings are out seeking places to hibernate. I average only about 1 or 2 sightings of these mysterious creatures a year. I've been told that these Snakes were extremely common in and around the New Ulm area! Stories abounded of the poor local residents being tormented by Milksnakes trying to move into their basement foundations in the Fall. (I'd like to find out if this is still true) If so...Just leave them alone. They'll come and go without causing any trouble at all. (In fact they'll take all your pesky Mice out with them when they leave in the Spring) If the mere idea of this is truly Horrifying...PLEASE don't kill them! Call ME instead. I've been wanting to obtain an adult pair for further research and to get some better photos.