Snakes and Lizards in Your Pocket: A Guide to Reptiles of the Upper Midwest

From the rare and docile massasauga, which relies on camouflage to remain unnoticed, to the more familiar bullsnake, which defends itself by hissing loudly and vibrating its tail from an S-shaped striking position, to the eastern racer, often seen crawling at more than three miles an hour during daytime, snakes are beautiful animals with habits both fascinating and beneficial to humans. Their relatives the lizards, most of which are more easily seen and identified, exhibit similarly fascinating behavior. This colorful addition to our series of laminated guides informs both amateur and professional herpetologists about twenty-seven species of snakes and six species of lizards in the Upper Midwest states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Dakota, North Dakota, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Missouri.

Terry VanDeWalle as been researching reptiles and amphibians in the Midwest for almost twenty years. He is a principal scientist for Natural Resources Consulting, Inc., in Independence, Iowa. Wildlife photographer Suzanne Collins is an executive officer of the Center for North American Herpetology.