Wildlife Watching Wednesday: The Subterranean Eastern Worm Snake

By: Tom Berg

Snakes are not the most beloved creatures in the great outdoors, but each species of snake has its own place in the ecosystem and each serves an important purpose. One interesting snake species that goes almost unnoticed throughout much of the Midwest and eastern United States is the Eastern Worm Snake.

Worm snakes are very small creatures, rarely reaching more than 12 inches in length. They look similar to common nightcrawlers (worms), but since they spend most of their time underground people seldom see them. In fact, most people around here have never heard of a worm snake! These tiny snakes are generally light brown in color, but they can also be tan or darker brown, too. Their belly is usually white or pink.

Worm snakes not only look like earthworms, but earthworms make up the vast majority of their diet, too. That makes sense since they live their lives underground where worms are common. They eat subterranean grubs and very small insects, too.

The eastern worm snake reproduces by laying eggs, but they are not extremely prolific.  Most female worm snakes only lay between 2-12 eggs each year.  The eggs are fairly large when compared to the mother’s body, usually measuring about an inch in length.  When the baby snakes hatch, they are already three to five inches long!

People living in the northern half of states like Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania are very unlikely to see a worm snake in the wild, since these creatures are typically found only in the more southern parts of those states. But they are absent from extremely hot environments, too, including Florida and southern Georgia.

In their natural habitat, worm snakes are actually relatively plentiful.  Even so, their habit of staying underground means they are rarely seen by the vast majority of people. On the rare occasions when people do encounter worm snakes, they find them resting under rocks, under rotting logs or under rotting leaf litter. Like most snakes, worm snakes are completely harmless to humans.

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