Green Snakes in Your Woods?
While some folks might not be comfortable with the topic of snakes, there are many advantages of such. A caring steward of the land understands this value and will promote habitat favorable to many plants and animals, snakes included. Yes, all snakes have value. From insect and rodent control to having attractive patterns and/or colors.
Indiana is home to two species of green snakes. The smooth green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) occurs in the northwestern corner of Indiana while the more common rough green snake (Opheodrys vernalis) is found in most of the southern third of the state.
Most snakes spend their active lives at ground level. Leaf litter, rock outcrops and water sources can be good places to view them if you are so inclined. However, this snake, will more likely be seen hanging around in the shrub layer, moving slowly and deliberately from branch to branch. The rough green snake is almost invisible with its nearly fluorescent green top and yellowish or whitish underside. Woodlands managed by prescribed fire, TSI, timber harvests and invasive removals can help create good habitat for them and multiple other plants and animals by allowing native plant species to thrive. These management activities allow at times for a healthy shrub component. Woodland edges are also good habitat for them. With a favored diet of grasshoppers, spiders and crickets, the edges and shrub layers will keep them returning to feed on these and other insects which commonly hang out there as well.
The largest threat to this species minus habitat loss and my neighbor’s hoe is the invasion of exotic invasive species which have little trouble outcompeting the native species. These exotic species displace native species disallowing preferred habitat and stealing valuable resources. This unwanted invasion creates a snowball effect involving and changing everything from soil moisture and insect habitation to fungal associates and density on the forest floor. This unnatural disruption eliminates some of the natural habitat thus making foraging and protection more difficult.
Early detection and removal are the easiest steps to controlling these unwanted pests. A good resource for identification, reporting and treatment options of non-native invasive plant species is https://www.mipn.org/publications/ Your local forester as well as your county extension agent may also be a helpful resource.
It can be easy to overlook or forget the importance of a whole and healthy native ecosystem especially if you are looking at only a portion of such. But know and trust these complex relationships within your woodlands. They are always striving to advance life. Even when potentially outcompeting aggressive exotic species are constantly edging their way into our woodlands, we can stay ahead of this advancement and help keep our native species around for many more millennia.
When you walk through your woodlands and may (or may not) be startled by a green snake imitating a sassafras branch, smile, and remember this snake to be a sign of a healthy and happy ecosystem you are managing and protecting. For additional information on herpetological conservation, see http://parcplace.org/
Mike Everidge is a Field Steward and self-proclaimed plant nerd for The Nature Conservancy in Indiana.