This Week in Iowa Nature

On May field trips, beware of poison ivy, stinging nettles, ticks, and chiggers.

Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock, The Iowa Nature Calendar

Plant of the Week

Blue-eyed grass
Sisyrinchium campestre Bickn.
other common names: prairie blue-eyed grass
Sisyrinchium: a name once used for another plant and later transferred to this genus
Campestre: from Latin campestre, meaning “of the fields”
Iris family: Iridaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

An Interview with Terry VanDeWalle: Part 3

Six-lined racerunner Aspidoscelis sexlineata
Range: Prairie (A. s. viridis): IL, IN, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, SD, WI; Six-lined (A. s. sexlineatus): IL, IN, MO
Size: 6–10.5 inches
Description: Long, slender lizard with olive to brown back and 6 (six-lined subspecies) or 7 (prairie
subspecies) white, light gray, yellow, or blue stripes that mostly extend to tail. Head and front part of body tinged with blue or green (bright green in prairie racerunner). Tail gray or brown, usually longer than body. Belly gray to pale blue in males and salmon-pink to white in females with 8 rows of large
rectangular scales. Young similar to adult but with light blue tails.
Habitat: Open areas with loose sandy soil such as sand or loess prairies, rocky hillsides, river floodplains
Similar species: Five-lined skink is shiny with belly scales similar to scales on back in size and shape.

What advice would you give to beginning naturalists?
In addition to getting a strong educational foundation at a college or university that specializes in natural sciences, I would say that it is equally important to spend time outside observing and learning to identify the plants and/or animals you are interested in. And you do not have to go very far away to do it. While it might be exciting to travel to far-off places and study exotic plants and animals, many of the great naturalists of the past have not traveled much farther than their own backyard. You can learn a lot by just watching the birds at your backyard feeder or the insects in your garden.  
 


What are your favorite natural areas in Iowa and the Midwest? What areas do you return to constantly?
Although many non-Iowans do not realize it, we have some wonderful natural areas in Iowa, including our state parks and state preserves. I enjoy the forests and limestone bluffs of northeast Iowa. For seeing the largest variety of reptiles and amphibians, southeast Iowa is the place to visit. The wetlands and Mississippi River backwaters in this part of the state are home to more different species of reptiles and amphibians than any other part of Iowa, which is why the Iowa Department of Natural Resources designated a portion of seven counties in southeast Iowa as an Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Area. For many years I have been spending a great deal of time along the Upper Wapsipinicon River in Bremer and Chickasaw counties.


Terry VanDeWalle, Snakes and Lizards in Your Pocket, with photographs by Suzanne L. Collins


Plant of the Week

Prairie larkspur
Delphinium virescens Nutt.
scientific name, 2008
Delphinium carolinianum
other common names: plains larkspur, larkspur
Delphinium: Greek for “dolphin,” referring to the shape of the flower
Virescens: meaning “greenish,” referring to the greenish white flowers
Buttercup family: Ranunculaceae

Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition

An Interview with Terry VanDeWalle: Part 2

Milk snake Lampropeltis triangulum
Range: Eastern (L. t. triangulum): IL, IN, IA, MI, MN, OH, WI; Red (L. t. syspila): IL, IN, IA, KS, MO, NE, SD
Size: 24–36 inches, maximum 52 inches
Description: Small to mediumsizesnake varying from gray to tan with series of white or yellow, red, and black bands. White or yellow bands never contact red bands. Reddish blotches on back and sides boldly bordered by black in eastern subspecies, reduced or absent in red subspecies. Y- or V-shaped mark near back of head (eastern) or light collar on neck (red). Belly irregular checkerboard with black on white. Scales smooth, anal plate single.
Habitat: Fields, woodlands, rocky hillsides, river bottoms, wetlands, outbuildings
Similar species: Copperhead has coppery, virtually unmarked head, single row of crossbands on back, no checkerboard pattern on belly. Water snakes have keeled scales, divided anal plates. Prairie kingsnake has brown to reddish brown blotches on back, never bright red, brown blotches on belly.


What’s your best snake story?
I was working as a naturalist for a county conservation board in Iowa and was showing live snakes to a group of senior citizens from a local care facility who were visiting the nature center. I had a small milk snake out and was showing it to the group. I was talking and not paying attention to the snake when I felt a small pin prick in my little finger. I did not think too much of it, but after a short time I looked at the snake in my hand to find that it had bitten me and was hung up on my finger and could not get loose. I easily got the snake loose while the group watched, and then I finished the session. Later on, as the group was boarding the bus to leave, one of the caretakers asked a little old lady in a wheelchair what she liked best about the trip. She responded, “I liked the snakes best, I have never seen anyone get bitten by a snake before.”  


Beyond snakes and lizards, what other plants and animals are you especially interested in?
I consider myself a naturalist and have interests in all areas of natural history. In addition to reptiles and amphibians, I have done a lot of work with wetland plants, raptors, and bats.
 


What has changed in the outdoor world since your first days of trying to learn about it and protect it? What’s better, what’s worse?
A positive change is people’s attitude toward the natural world. Much of the credit for this I believe goes to environmental educators who are working with young kids to teach the importance of, and a respect for, the natural world. As a result, more kids are growing up with a strong conservation ethic. Unfortunately, at the same time, many kids are growing up in urban areas who never get to experience nature first hand. 


Terry VanDeWalle, Snakes and Lizards in Your Pocket, with photographs by Suzanne L. Collins

This Week in Iowa Nature

May 10, 1879: The Estherville Meteorite exploded over Dickinson and Emmet counties.

Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock, The Iowa Nature Calendar

Plant of the Week

Indigo bush
Amorpha fruticosa L.
other common names: false indigo, bastard indigo, river locust, wild indigo
Amorpha: from Greek amorphos, meaning generally “without shape,” referring to the flower with only one petal
Fruticosa: meaning “shrubby”
Legume family: Fabaceae (Leguminosae)






Photograph by Thomas Rosburg, Wildflowers of the Tallgrass Prairie: The Upper Midwest, Second Edition