20 / OutdoorIllinois May 2010

All boxed up

W hat did you find onyour outdoor adven-ture, an eastern orornate box turtle?Here are some hints to

help you determine which is which.The eastern box turtle (Terrapene

carolina) has a highly variable shell pat-tern of yellow or orange markings on adark background. The plastron is uni-formly plain and devoid of mark-ings. Habitat can be a quick clue tohelp identify which box turtle you’ve

encountered: This turtle inhabits forestsand forest edges, so if you’re walking inthe forest in Illinois and see a box tur-tle, it’s probably an eastern box turtle.The ornate box turtle (T. ornata)

has a dark brown shell with a yellowmidback stripe and six to eight yellowlines radiating from the center of eachscute. The plastron is patterned with aseries of yellow lines on a darker back-ground color. Prairies and open fieldsin former prairies are the preferredhabitat for this species.Box turtles can be amazingly long-

lived in the wild—they might be even

older than you! Research has shown abox turtle in the wild can live for 40years or longer, partly due to its perfectdefense system in which it can hidecompletely inside its own shell, sealedup against would-be predators. Mostother turtles lack the ability to complete-ly retract their arms and legs and sealthemselves inside their shell. Duringcolder months, box turtles burrow intothe ground and do not emerge againuntil spring when their omnivorous dietof insects, worms, fungi and plants onceagain becomes abundant.

ornate box turtle

eastern box turtle

(Photo by Adele Hodde.)

Photos by John Tucker, IllinoisNatural History Survey