Had the pleasure of herping with a bunch of great herpers last June in Missouri. Many thanks to Wayne, Mike, and Ryan for all your help and hospitality!
Very cool! You were in great company, and had some nice finds for the time of year you were there. Missouri in the summer is definitely tough, but you guys made the most of it. Hats off all around!
Really, really nice photos Eitan. Just curious regarding the pic of the triunguis - did it have an open wound to attract all of those egg laying flies?
Hey Eitan, nice to see some more posts from you! It's been awhile (that I can recall at least). Did you catch all of the China series? They finally finished, ending with post #39
I just finished reading your new post...excellent as always.
Herping with Mike P. is always interesting and I'm sure you guys got along well.
The Blow flies (Bottle Flies) all over the box turtle is interesting especially with all the eggs, which I believe are from the Blow flies. Was there fecal or something on the turtle? What attracted the flies?
Great pictures and report, Eitan!! We really enjoyed herping with you and Ron! I am also appreciative that the snakes cooperated beyond expectations for the difficult time of year. While spring and fall are pretty sure bets, finding many of these species under rocks and on glades in the dry and heat of summer is a fairly tall order.
One of the best parts of trip reports is reliving each find all over again
Nice pics. Generally, May is my best month. Although, it seems timbers and copperheads are findable all summer long. However, I am often dumbfounded by my results or lack thereof. As far as Mo scenery goes, I really like Millstream gardens. I must confess I've never found a herp worth looking at there though lol though they surely are present.
Terry --- Thanks! I definitely recommend Missouri.
KevC --- Thanks for the reinforcement! I already knew I'd be in good company, but wasn't sure how well we'd do in June. Definitely exceeded my expectations.
John --- Thanks for kind words. Didn't notice any open wounds on the turtle, but it seemed to me its rear leg was kinda swollen. We didn't inspect too closely, wanted to avoid adding to its stress.
Kevin M --- Thanks. Yes, it has been a while. I did notice that you were in the process of re-posting the China series, but didn't realize you had finished. Send me an email if you want to talk about linking them again to a website.
Daniel --- Thanks, and you're right about Mike. Thanks also for the fly ID. As mentioned above, didn't see anything obvious that was attracting the flies, but we assumed they noticed something about the turtle we didn't.
Billy --- Thanks. It was like finding three snakes instead of one.
Wayne --- Backatcha. And one of the best parts of re-living the finds is recalling who we were with. It was great to see you again, thanks once more for being such an enormous help and fine company!
SLD --- Thanks. First time was in April, then this time in June; maybe next time I'll come in May!
Gary --- I agree about the group, and thanks for your kind words about the website, much appreciated.
Justinm --- Yep, MO is certainly a great state for herping.
I have seen flies and mosquitos in spring in the panhandle of FL hounding Gulf Coast Boxies. I didn't see anything obvious on the shell to attract them either. Interesting comparison.
Chris
Just curious regarding the pic of the triunguis - did it have an open wound to attract all of those egg laying flies?
