🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3420458C.6CC6@erasethis.interpath.com>,
Stephen W. Anderson <swa@erasethis.interpath.com> wrote:
>Tom Wilson wrote:
>> Errr, then why have I heard a rattler in the weeds out by Hemlock
>> Bluff?  I'm from Eastern NC--believe me when I say I know what it
>> sounds like.
>
>Not questioning that, but I've been fooled by locusts. The songs of
>small rattlesnakes and some insects sound very much alike.

Nope...I know the difference between the hum of a cicada (what you
call a locust) and a rattler...the frequency and general tonal
quality is WAY different to me.  This was a rattler, probably an
Eastern Diamondback, since it's pretty unlikely to find a Pygmy
rattler or Timber rattler around here.  The only place I've ever
seen Pygmies in NC is in the East, and Timber rattlers are most
likely found somewhat west of the Triangle.

>> >BTW, there is a tiny species of scorpion in the mountains too,
>> >about 1/2 inch long.  Two friends have been stung; one had almost
>> >no effects save a small stinging at first.  The other rolled
>> >over onto on in bed and got stung on the neck.  The effect was
>> >that of a bad bee sting.
>
>You can sometimes find them beneath rocks. They like dry places (up on
>the ridges, in sunny spots with plenty of loose shale, is where I've
>most often seen them).
>
>> >> Not sure about coral snakes.
>> 
>> Southeastern NC, Southern Pines, area, etc...they're reclusive
>> burrowers, and like sandy pine woods soil.
>
>Really? I knew they were around Wilmington but didn't now about the
>sandhills.

Well, I have to qualify this as having heard reports of them (golfers).
The soil and terrain is what they like, and it's probably plenty
warm enough for them.

>The danger with corals is that they pack a neurotoxin for which there is
>no antivenin. Fortunately they're small and inject little of it
>(usually), but they can kill, especially if one is particularly
>susceptible to their poison. Copperheads, rattlesnakes and cottonmouths
>rarely pose a serious threat of death to healthy adults.

Certainly true of copperheads and pygmy rattlers...I don't think I'd
like a bite (or two) from a 3 foot diamondback or moccasin.  They 
are pretty venomous just from their sheer size, and do get bigger
(at least diamondbacks do)

I may be wrong, but I think there is an antivenin for them now, but it's
not widely known (or distributed), since coral bites are so rare outside
of Florida.  They're rare enough there--corals would just as soon avoid
you as anything, to go along with very small heads in general.  It's
hard for them to hit something small enough to get a good chew (since
they're not vipers)...fingers and toes are the most likely candidates.

-- 
  Tom Wilson          | If you read this sentence, it won't tell you anything.
  SAS Institute Inc.  | 
  sasctw@unx.sas.com  |  All opinions are mine.  I don't speak for SAS.