Snakes, Spiders and Bats, oh my…

It appears that many of the creatures I seek this year are the sources of common human phobias.  While sometimes scary, these species generally perform an important role in our environment.  So, if they could speak, they would say “don’t hate because I’m scary, but be very glad that I am not bigger than you.”   The July heat and humidity has really brought out the insects.  I am now up to 620 species for the year.

While walking on our morning break from work, we found this Eastern Red Bat on the sidewalk west of the Topeka State Capitol building.  With a little gentle prodding, it flew into a nearby tree.  Photo by Tom Sparling with his smartphone.

This Nurseryweb Spider was found in my yard and was about the size of a quarter.

 

Janeen Walters and I found this small Brown Snake (not a very creative name) hiding under a log in her yard.