Life + Style
Ask Ms. Jen Bats, Venemous Snakes & Butterflies! //
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By Jennifer Bradshaw
We found a bat in our house and now I’m worried - do most bats have rabies? — Eamonn H. - Wilton, CT
some mushrooms). Here in CT, we have fourteen species of snakes, only 2 of which are venomous.
Bats are one of the most feared and misunderstood animals in the world. Like any mammal, bats can carry rabies, although less than one percent of all bats carry the disease. These little “cave dwellers” are super beneficial to have around. Bats consume many agricultural pests and mosquitoes and are more efficient at eliminating these pests than any birds or expensive bug zappers. A single little brown bat can eat 1,200 mosquitoes and nocturnal flying insects in an hour! I don’t know about you, but I’d take bats over mosquitoes any day.
Why do monarch butterflies only eat milkweed, can’t they eat other leaves? — Kevin A. - Ridgefield, CT
September / October 2021
How many poisonous snakes are in CT? — Jason A. - Easton, CT There are no poisonous snakes in CT, or the world for that matter! Snakes can be venomous, but they aren’t poisonous. The term venomous is used when something injects toxins by bite or sting (cobras or bees); poisonous applies to an organism that unloads toxins when ingested or is absorbed through the skin (poison dart frogs and
Many butterflies have just one plant that is their main food source and milkweed is the monarchs’ only food. Milkweed contains a variety of chemical compounds that make the monarch caterpillars poisonous to potential predators. The milkweed contains a cardiac poison that is poisonous to most vertebrates (animals with backbones) but doesn’t affect monarchs. Adult monarchs are brightly colored, which in the animal
kingdom serves as a warning to predators that they are poisonous. Jennifer Bradshaw is the Early Education Coordinator at Woodcock Nature Center. She is very involved in several advocacy and association committees. She was awarded the 2019 Excellence in Environmental Stewardship Award given by the CT Outdoor and Environmental Education Association. Jennifer lives in Ridgefield with her husband, Doug, and their children, Jase and Nicky.
» Have a nature question for Ms. Jen? Send it to editor@ ridgefieldmagazine.com.
