40 THE AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 



Habitat and Habits. — While the ring-necked snake is so abundant as to be 

 probably the dominant woodland snake in many parts of Ohio, it is seldom 

 seen. Specimens were uncovered by overturning flat stones, boards or logs, 

 peeling the bark from decaying logs and stumps, moving slabs on old sawdust 

 piles, raking through bark chips, heaps of leaves or piles of small stones, etc. 

 As many as five were found at one time and on several occasions two or three 

 were discovered under the same shelter. A dozen or more specimens were 

 secured on some field trips but such success was rare and systematic search 

 was often fruitless even in areas which appeared very favorable. It was un- 

 usual to find this snake, or any other, under objects which also sheltered any 

 considerable number of ants or ground beetles. 



The majority of specimens taken were beneath flat stones since this is the 

 easiest cover to investigate. There was no apparent preference for certain 

 types of rocks; individuals were as numerous and in as good condition under 

 limestone as under sandstone or shale. In practically every case, however, the 

 hiding place was moist and in or near woods. Since most of the level and 

 less rugged parts of Ohio were long since lumbered, the hilly, wooded areas 

 were the most productive; the snakes were found as often on the tops of the 

 hills as on the slopes or in the valleys between them. 



Specimens suddenly exposed to light sought to crawl under any nearby 

 object even to the collector's shoes. Most were mild tempered when first 

 caught although some would writhe about or force the depressed head between 

 the fingers in an effort to escape. Occasionally one would strike and bite but 

 the teeth were too small to do damage. The musk glands were usually copi- 

 ously discharged during the excitement of capture; the fluid has a pungent 

 and unpleasant odor. 



Individuals were collected in every month from March to October inclus- 

 ive, but most were obtained in May. The most productive period was from 

 the time the snakes left hibernation in the early spring until the habitats be- 

 came unfavorably dry during the summer. 



The food of the ring-necked snake consists of cold-blooded animals includ- 

 ing snakes, lizards, salamanders, frogs, insects and earthworms. Detailed 

 records are: narrow-mouthed toad (Cope, 1900, 753); beetles and earthworms 

 (Atkinson, 1901, 148); beetles, undetermined insect fragments, salamander 

 (Surface, 1906, 173); green snake and red-bellied snake (Ditmars, 1936, 

 277); salamander (Blanchard, 1927, 286). Captive specimens ate earthworms 

 and red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). 



A female from Ashtabula County, measuring 19% inches in length, depos- 

 ited six eggs June 22, 1932. These were adherent to one another, were in a 

 single cluster and were laid in leaf mould and damp earth beneath a piece of 

 bark in the snake's cage. They were white but stained yellow in places. Two 

 of these eggs hatched August 14, 1932 (53 days after being laid), and the 

 young were 4% and 4% inches in length, respectively. 



Blanchard (1937a) has summarized his observations on 202 sets of eggs 

 from northern Michigan. He found they were laid in moist (not wet) places, 

 such as beneath the hard outer shell of rotten logs, and that the eggs in a set 



