Virginia Herpetological Society

On July 16, education committee member, Erin C. Anthony, gave a lesson on salamanders to the 4H group in Mineral, VA. 14 children in grades 3-5 were reached. Special thank you to the PARC Educational Webpage from which the lesson was taken. Campers learned about salamander habitat and walked around the local park to assess various sections and determine how much viable salamander habitat existed.

Permission was given by the campers' guardians for photos to be taken and shared.

Thank you to everyone who donates to the VHS whether it be their time or money. By doing so, you contribute to the conservation, research, and education of our native reptiles and amphibians.

To become a member / donate, go to this link: https://www.virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/.../members...

On June 23rd, education committee member, Travis Anthony, presented for the Herndon Library. 55 total people attended, and most attendees were kids between 5 and 15 with their parents.

Thank you to everyone who donates to the VHS whether it be their time or money. By doing so, you contribute to the conservation, research, and education of our native reptiles and amphibians.

To become a member / donate, go to this link: https://www.virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/.../members...

Thank you, Barry Buschow, for representing VHS at the Virginia Black Bear Festival in Stanardsville on June 1st!

VHS education team member Amanda Stinnett staffed a VHS education table on April 27 at the Waynesboro Riverfest. She engaged with approximately 300 people that day!

VHS members, Mike Clifford, Ana Sparks and Kelly Geer led the Virginia Master Naturalist - Pocahontas Chapter https://www.facebook.com/groups/124482024228878/ on a h**p outing Saturday. The weather was cool and damp, but that didn't dampen anyone's mood : ) Congrats to the Chapter's 2024 Spring Cohort for completing your last class and outing. Y'all will be fantastic Virginia Master Naturalists!

2024 VHS Annual Spring Survey
Sweet Run State Park
Friday - Sunday, May 17-19

Details can be found on the VHS site news page https://virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/news/index.html

Can't have a ReptileFest at Virginia Museum of Natural History without VHS!

Thank you Mark Khosravi (seen below) and Caroline Seitz for representing VHS at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fairfax's Earth Day Festival

"Turtles are hit especially hard by poaching because they age and reproduce slowly, and very few of their hatchlings survive to adulthood. “When we take out an adult, that can destroy that whole local population,” says Caroline Seitz, education chair of the Virginia Herpetological Society."

Virginia's Turtles Are in Peril Due to Poaching With poaching on the rise, local wildlife experts work to end the illegal activity threatening Virginia’s turtles.

This 10 minute film is a wonderful introduction for kids (and adults) to the amazing vernal pools of Virginia. Thank you Kathy Pasternak of Pasternak Media, LLC, for allowing us to share your creation

The Amazing Vernal Pool_Grade 2 Alexandre Grimaldi Sotton, a grade four student at Kent Gardens in Virginia's Fairfax County Public School system, discovers the wonders of a vernal pool in…

Ana Sparks and Barry Buschow presented a h**p program to Boy Scouts for their Reptile and Amphibian Study Merit Badge this past weekend in Prince William County

The VHS meeting at the Virginia Museum of Natural History was featured in the local news and includes an interview with our new Vice President, Dr. Kuhn!

Society's meeting puts spotlight on natural history museum's h**petology department The Virginia Herpetological Society will visit the Virginia Museum of Natural History for its annual meeting for the first time.

"Virginia is furthering efforts to combat the illegal reptile and amphibian trade in the commonwealth through a resolution passed today [October 26, 2023] by the Board of Wildlife Resources.

The resolution mainly prioritizes the protection of Virginia’s native turtle species — considered one of the most vulnerable groups of vertebrates worldwide — which face significant threats and population decline due to unsustainable poaching."

Virginia furthers efforts to combat illegal turtle trade - Virginia Mercury “Illegal trade of wildlife is the fourth largest source of illegal trade internationally."

The photo contest results are in! 26 entries, and 175 votes later.......

1st place - Barbara Saffir with her green tree frogs!
2nd place - Jason Crawley with his rough green snake!
3rd place - Erin C. Anthony with her Yonahlossee salamander!

Thank you to everyone who participated in this year's photo contest! We hope you enjoyed it.

Thank you to everyone who donates to the VHS whether it be their time or money. By doing so, you contribute to the conservation, research, and education of our native reptiles and amphibians as well as member contests and events such as this.
To become a member / donate, go to this link: https://www.virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/.../members...

The fall meeting of the Virginia Herpetological Society held on November 4th at the Virginia Museum of Natural History was a huge success! The VHS would like to thank the VMNH for their generous hospitality, behind-the-scenes tours, and hosting an after-hours social. Special thanks to Erin Anthony, John Orr, Travis Anthony, Jason Gibson, Arianna Khun, and Marshall Boyd for organizing the event. We were honored with a presentation by keynote speaker Gary M. Williamson, Author of The Kauffeld Letters.

We would like to thank all the presenters: Erin Anthony, Marshall Boyd, Cheyenne Brooks, Nicholas M. Caruso, Charlie Holguin, Arianna Khun, and Holly Kindsvater. Last but certainly not least, we would like to thank all VHS members and members of the general public for their attendance.

Mike Clifford reported four years of snake observations (1972 – 1975) from Amelia Co. These observations are graphed below along with the snake identification request sent to our ID Team from March to October 2023. It is interesting how closely the peaks and valleys of observations align.

References:
VHS Bulletin No, 79 – Relative Abundance and Seasonal Activity of Snakes in Amelia County – Mike Cliffordhttps://virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/newsletters/bulletins/bulletins-71-80/bull79.pdf

2023 VHS Email Identification Summary
https://virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/2023_id_requests/index.html

Click the link below to view this year's entries for our annual photo contest. You do not need to be a member to vote. Vote virtually by Thursday, November 2nd 2023. One vote per person.

CONTEST PRIZES
First place prize - $100
Second place prize - $50
Third place prize - $25

Good luck contestants!

For more information on our fall meeting, see our website for a full schedule!

2023 VHS Photo Contest Voting Form Please vote for your favorite entry in this year's photo contest for the Virginia Herpetological Society! Vote virtually by Thursday, November 2nd 2023. One vote per person. CONTEST PRIZES First place prize - $100 Second place prize - $50 Third place prize - $25 Good luck contestants! For more infor...

🦎🐢🐍 Calling fans of all things reptiles and amphibians!!

The Virginia Herpetological Society, a statewide organization that brings together people interested in advancing their knowledge of Virginia's reptiles and amphibians, is hosting its Fall 2023 meeting on Saturday, November 4 right here at VMNH!

While you must be a member of the Society to attend, registration for the meeting is free!

To learn more about the benefits of being a VHS member, as well as to join and register, visit www.virginiah**petologicalsociety.com right now!

Recently, education committee member, Barry Buschow, went to Saint James' Episcopal School in Warrenton to educate their students about our local reptiles and amphibians! The students especially enjoyed using our website to identify frog calls.

Student images were given to us by Saint James'.

Thank you to everyone who donates to the VHS whether it be their time or money. By doing so, you contribute to the conservation, research, and education of our native reptiles and amphibians.

To become a member / donate, go to this link: https://www.virginiah**petologicalsociety.com/.../members...

This event was sent to leadership by The Friends of D**e Marsh to share with interested members
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All about Herps -- Northern Virginia’s Reptiles and Amphibians

Join us on October 25, 7 p.m., for a Zoom presentation by Alonso Abugattas on the reptiles and amphibians of Northern Virginia. Herpetology is the branch of zoology that studies amphibians and reptiles. For Northern Virginia, examples of reptiles are turtles, lizards and snakes; for amphibians, frogs, toads and salamanders.

Reptiles and amphibians, like other wildlife, play an important role in nature and from a human perspective, provide ecological services. Snakes, for example, can control rodents. Many species of reptiles and amphibians are in decline because of habitat loss, vehicular traffic, sales in the pet trade and intentional destruction.

Alonso will describe the species in the region, their behavior, needs and threats, Alonso will offer some suggestions for how to better preserve and increase their populations. We will learn the meaning of terms like “aestivation” and “ectothermic.”

Alonso is the founder of the Capital Naturalist on social media. Check out his social media platforms: The Capital Naturalist Facebook Group, the Capital Naturalist Blog and the Capital Naturalist YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv8LHf1hHCEU3UHdpb-8Mng). He is the author of The Reptiles and Amphibians of the Washington, D. C. Metropolitan Area.

Please register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkdOqtrT0qE9zMB4mcRT70ezVsftebBPMy #/registration.

Cosponsors are the Friends of Huntley Meadows Park, the Friends of Little Hunting Creek and the Friends of Mason Neck State Park.

Fall Meeting Registration 2023

This meeting will be held in Martinsville at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) on November 4th.

This includes free admission to public exhibits & opportunities for behind the scenes tours of the collections!

Address for meeting: 21 Starling Ave, Martinsville, VA 24112

Please complete registration by October 31st.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/164O4FayzwLysic3eTdjWF8QnbZgSJ1kt0mchb9Mo3F0/edit

The VHS Identification Team is receiving a high volume of ID requests for snakes commonly encountered this time of year. As cooler weather arrives these species seek refuge in safe warm places sometimes selecting a dwelling shared with Homo sapiens.

Harmless Juvenile Eastern Ratsnake - Exhibit a strong pattern of black to dark-brown blotches dorsally on a peppered black-and-white to gray body. The anterior blotches have anterior and posterior projections on the corners. The brown and white venter forms a checkerboard pattern. There is a distinct brown stripe that starts in front of the eye and runs to the margin of the mouth. These are connected by a brown band across the dorsum of the head. The venter of the tail has an irregular dark stripe along each side.

Harmless Juvenile Northern Watersnake - The dorsum of body and tail with a variable number of complete, closely spaced, dark crossbands anteriorly that break up at about midbody to form a series of rectangular, alternating, middorsal and lateral blotches; alternating blotches in contact or separated by 1 scale; body color brown to gray with varying amounts of red, yellow, or white; dorsal blotches and crossbands vary from solid black to reddish brown with black borders; venter cream to yellowish, sometimes pinkish, with 2 irregular rows of dark half-moons on the ventral scales; half-moons vary from all black to reddish and tan in the center with black borders; shape of markings highly irregular among individuals.

Harmless Adult Dekay’s Brownsnakes - The dorsum of body and tail light brown or gray to dark brown or nearly black, with a longitudinal series of small, paired black spots; area between spots is lighter than rest of body, forming a tan middorsal stripe in some specimens; a variable number of pairs of spots (2- 22) connected by a thin black crossbar; lateral scales tipped in black and white to form a checkerboard-like pattern in some specimens.

Harmless Juvenile Northern Black Racer - Have a dorsal pattern of dark-gray to reddish-brown blotches on a light-gray to brown body. The venter is cream in color and may be plain or bear an irregular series of black dots. Small black or brown dots often occur laterally on the dorsum. The chin is plain white and the head is mostly brown, interspersed with varying amounts of gray.

Venomous Juvenile Eastern Copperhead - Juveniles are colored and patterned as adults, with the notable exception that the tip of the tail (about 25-30% of its length) is sulfur yellow. Juveniles lack the black flecking seen in adults; it appears with age. Neonates have a total length of 204-243 mm (8 - 9.75 inches)

Free money alert!

The Orianne Society is currently accepting applications for their small grant program. These $2000 grants will be awarded to graduate students working on reptile or amphibian conservation or management projects in the southeastern US. The deadline for proposal submission is November 17.

virginiah**petologicalsociety.com

At the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists this summer, VHS President, Erin C. Anthony, spoke with BioScience about the conference and VHS! The podcast episode includes interviews with researchers and other leaders of conservation organizations. The podcast is well done and captures the feel of the conference nicely.

To listen to the interview click this link:

BioScience Talks | On Site at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists We hope you enjoy these in-depth discussions of recently published BioScience articles and other science stories. Each episode of our interview series delves into the research behind a highlighted story, giving listeners unique insight into scientists' work.

Our photo contest is virtual this year as well. The deadline to upload your photo is midnight on October 20th.* This ensures that voting can take place for the week preceding the meeting, and winners will be announced at 1 pm on November 4th during our meeting. The photos will be sent to membership on or before October 25th for voting.

CONTEST RULES:
1) Please submit one photo per member! This is to make sure Google Forms is not overloaded and the facilitator is not overwhelmed by multiple submissions from individuals.
2) The photo should only be that of a Virginia native reptile or amphibian.
3) The photo must have been taken in Virginia.
4) The photo must have been taken this year (after the previous VHS fall meeting and before the photo submission deadline for this fall meeting)

CONTEST PRIZES
First place prize - $100
Second place prize - $50
Third place prize - $25

Good luck contestants!

*I do realize I've sent out two emails at this point where I seem to have neglected the existence of October. Please believe me when I say October 20th is the real deadline.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1AuBUjiDpr1FjgPdIVOdynSapftOC5Z-d0TAJlJi4_A4/edit

Sharing here for our friends at the Virginia Natural History Society
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Registration for the 2023 General Meeting of the Virginia Natural History Society, to be held Saturday, 23 September 2023 at Radford University is now open!

As a reminder, the deadline for submitting presentation titles is 31 August.

Conference fees (student: $ 10; professional VNHS member: $15; non-member professional: $25) include a deli lunch buffet and 2 coffee breaks.

More details about the conference and a link to submit titles and register online are available at:

https://virginianaturalhistorysociety.com/vnhs-general-meeting-2023/


If you’d like to pay for registration with a check, please make it payable to “Virginia Natural History Society Conference Registration” and mail it to Nancy Moncrief, VMNH, 21 Starling Avenue, Martinsville, Virginia 24112.

If you must cancel after submitting payment, you will be refunded the full amount, minus a $5 administration fee, prior to September 18 at 11:59 EDT. We reserve the right to cancel the conference, if necessary, in which case you will be refunded the full amount.

VNHS General Meeting 2023 – Virginia Natural History Society DETAILS FOR ORAL PRESENTATIONSYou will be allotted 12 minutes for the talk, followed by 3 minutes for questions and transition to the next presentation. If the talk itself continues for 15 minutes, no additional time will be available for questions. Please bring your presentation on a USB Flash “t...

This outstanding photo of a gray treefrog was taken by Kristy Paragano.

These photos are from our state h**petologist, J.D. Kleopfer.

A juvenile Northern Red-bellied Cooter from Isle of Wight Co. The ontogenetic shift in pigmentation of Northern Red-bellied Cooters can produce some beautiful and unusual patterns.