Wow - I love those owlet moths, too! So cool. Now, I just need to find some catacolas. They seem to be the trend right now - locating and finding them. John did a fine job on the Oklahoma database, and I put him in contact with Bill Oehlke who is in the process of establishing catacola records on a state-by-state basis. John gave him permission to use his info on his website. Sandy, for some reason I cannot locate the Okla. Leps discussion forum. Can you give me a link? So cool to have the record for Oklahoma county. I've already posted a few sphinx moths for new county records. But seems like we are experiencing a flux of new state and county records this year. You need to come walk thru my backyard again. All kinds of moths around. Earlier this year I saw what looked like a Faithful Beauty in my yard. It is the only one that matches the description. I didn't get a photo, darn it! They are usually only found on the gulf coast. Are they stunning! Nothing else completely matches the moth I saw, except the FB. Susan Here is a link that might be useful: Faithful Beauty Moth

Thanks, Karri and MissSherry, I think this is just one of those moths that somehow flew under the radar, and I'm the person that brought it to the attention of the people who keep track of the records. But it's been fun and the icing on the cake of a wonderful lep summer. I have really enjoyed the people I have come to know and appreciate on this forum. Who would I have shared this with, if not you all? No one else would really be interested. Sandy

Hello folks. I have been somewhat dormant these past few weeks due to moving and getting settled in back in Hays. Despite all of the school work and my busy schedule, my roomate (Mike Rochford, a herp grad student here at FHSU) and I have been able to herp quite a bit. I will start with late July. A few researchers from Ohio State University came to Kansas to collect venom samples from Massasauga rattlesnakes. So we set out to aid them in thier search. Here the totals: 15 + Massasaugas 2 Prairie Rattlesnakes 3 Great Plains Rat Snakes 2 Texas Brown Snakes 1 Texas Longnose Snake 2 Kansas Glossy Snakes (I know there were more in the other cars, but I cannot recall the totals) Glossy and Longnose Snakes have a limited range in Kansas. They are always a good find and both are protected in Kansas. Over the past few weeks, Mike and I have been able to roadcruise Ellis County...Totals: TMTC Western Slender Glass Lizards TMTC Prairie Rattlesnakes 5 Great Plains Rat Snakes 1 Speckled King Snake 1 Eastern Hognose- We are at the furthest west of their range. They are somewhat uncommon here in western Kansas, although they seem to be fairly common in some places. The Easterns we have here are incredible looking. Here is an example of a western Ks eastern hog: http://webcat.fhsu.edu/ksfauna/herps/index.asp?page=species&species_id=393-995&dots=yes&tributaries=yes&isAnura=&map=ks 1 Bullsnake TMTC Lined Snakes TMTC Ringnecks TMTC Western Coachwhips TMTC Woodhouse Toads Herps are really moving out here. We had to go to the Red Hills region of southwestern Kansas last weekend for a night, so we herped...Totals: 1 Prairie Kingsnake 1 huge Coachwhip 1 Massasauga 1 Black Rat Snake TMTC Woodhouse Toad TMTC Plains Leopard Frogs 1 G.P. Narrow-mouthed Toad 1 Great Plains Toad 1 Common Garter Snake 1 Western Slender Glass Lizard Now so far we were disappointed with the night's totals. We had to make the three hour drive back to Hays and it was about midnight, so we set out. Along the way we ran into a massive storm and we enjoyed a lightshow the entire way home. I was hoping we would get some active rain that would set the Tiger Salamanders in motion, but we had no such luck. At about 1:30 in the morning, we saw a small white snake in the road, it was very...glossy...and about a foot long. I turned the truck around and we went back to find a Kansas Glossy Snake crawling across the road. This was a great find because Kansas Glossy Snakes have not been recorded from that far north in Kiowa County. It was a great specimen. A little while later we crossed into Edwards County and after a few minutes, we spotted a DOR. We went back to find an adult Dipodemys (Kangaroo Rat) sitting in the middle of the road. We agreed that this was not the DOR that we had seen, so we went back further to find an adult Texas Longnose Snake DOR. This was a somewhat significant find because it was a county record and a slight range extension in that part of Kansas. We have had some great luck out here, but we still have yet to find a Western Hognose or an adult Eastern. Watch for a large post soon that will be complete with pictures. (And I mean LARGE)... chad

Send me an e-mail through "my page" here with whatever information you have, and I'll do a search. I have a World Deluxe membership at Ancestry.com, so I may be able to come up with something. The Social Security Death Index has been updated through last year; but you aren't guaranteed of finding the info you seek, because the only people who get listed in this index are those individuals against whose SS account a claim was made for death/survivor benefits.