Critters of West Virginia

[heron]

Following on from my thread: Snake ID please

I thought I would post up pics of some of the local WV wildlife I spotted last summer when I was out there.. If you know what they are, please post

[harwood]

I know that last one its one of my favs its an Eastern box turtle Terrapene carolina carolina

[vawn]

don't know about the geko or the moth but that moth looks awesome
a little ringed plover for the bird

[heron]

I think the moth is a luna moth.. It was absolutely massive though.

Not sure about the spider (black widow?) the caterpillar or the gecko (salamander?)

[kettykev]

What gecko would that be then? Do you mean the newt/salamander.

[vawn]

the spider does look like a red back, do they occur in west virginia?

[Woodsman]

Originally Posted by heron

I think the moth is a luna moth.. It was absolutely massive though.

Not sure about the spider (black widow?) the caterpillar or the gecko (salamander?)

Yes thats a Luna or moon moth very impressive.
I think the bird is a member of the plover family called a Killdeer.

[Amalthea]

Luna moths are stunning creatures!! And the spider is a black widow And I think the salamander is a northern red.

[heron]

Originally Posted by Amalthea

And the spider is a black widow

Ohh I feel better that it is, because we killed it.

.. Not because we're mean, but it was on the kids' bathroom door.. mm spider bites.. not cool!!

Just did a bit of googling and the Salamander is in fact a Red Spotted Newt, or Eastern Newt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_newt

[jamesthornton]

The newt is Eastern or Red-spotted Newt.