Rudy Mancke

The American mink (Neovison vison) is a semiaquatic species of mustelid native to North America, though human intervention has expanded its range to many parts of Europe and South America.

Cemophora coccinea, commonly known as the northern scarlet snake, is a species of nonvenomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to the southeastern United States. 

Members of the Prionus genus are large and usually brown or black. All members of the genus Prionus have twelve or more strongly toothed or even flabellate antennomeres on their large antennae. Common North American species include the "Tile-horned Prionus", Prionus imbricornis, the "California root borer", Prionus californicus, and the "Broad-necked root borer", Prionus laticollis.

Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran (true bug) of the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America. It ranges from Central America through Mexico and the Caribbean to southern areas in Canada. Costa Rica represents this insect's southern limit. It inhabits disturbed areas, roadsides and open pastures.

Immature Carolina wrens will often tuck themselves into the corner of a porch for the night.

Leucauge venusta, known as the orchard spider, is a long-jawed orbweaver spider that occurs from southern Canada to Colombia, along the East coast, reaching into the central US ,also in South Asia.The web is often oriented horizontally, with the spider hanging down in the center.

Some listeners find a nest full of baby rabbits...

Adult eastern cicada-killer wasps are large, 1.5 to 5.0 centimetres (0.6 to 2.0 in) long, robust wasps with hairy, reddish and black areas on the thorax (middle part), and are black to reddish brown marked with light yellow stripes on the abdominal (rear) segments. The wings are brownish. Coloration superficially resembles that of some yellowjacket and hornet species.

The painted bunting (Passerina ciris) is a species of bird in the cardinal family, Cardinalidae, that is native to North America. The bright plumage of the male only comes in the second year of life.

A listener reports finding the beautiful shell. Cassis tuberosa, the king helmet, is a species of very large sea snail with a solid, heavy shell.

A listener's question: Are rat snakes vulnerable to predators after swallowing large prey?

Megacopta cribraria, also called the bean plataspid, kudzu bug, kudzu beetle, globular stink bug and lablab bug, is a shield bug native to India and China, where it is an agricultural pest of lablab beans and other legumes.

The copperhead is one of South Carolina's two venomous snakes. Rudy shares some tips on how to make the enviroment of your yard less attractive to them.

Cliff swallows build gourd-shaped nests made from mud with small entrance holes. They build their nests tightly together, on top of one another, under bridges or alongside mountain cliffs. Living in large populations, these aerial insectivores use extensive vocalizations to communicate warnings or food availability to the other individuals.

Gastrophryne carolinensis, the eastern narrow-mouthed toad, is a species of microhylid frog. It is a relatively small, toad-like amphibian found in damp, shady habitats. While not a true toad it is so called because it is terrestrial. It is found in the United States, from southern Maryland to the Florida Keys, west to Missouri.