The Ohio insect is a ladybug. A ladybug can lay up to a 1000 eggs in a life time. There are over 300 types of ladybugs that live in North America. Ladybugs come in many colors like pink, white, orange and black. Their spots fade when they get older. The bright colors on ladybugs warn birds that they do not taste good. These are just a few fun facts about ladybugs.

The black racer snake is the official reptile for Ohio. The black racer snake became the official reptile of Ohio in 1995. Black racers can be found on rocky ledges, pastures, overgrown fields, woodland, and wetlands.  The black racer is also known as the southern black racer. The snake is a predator. They eat lizards, insects, moles, birds, eggs, small snakes, rodents, and frogs. Adult racers are solid black and juveniles are blotched gray and reddish brown. The black racer is a very interesting snake.

There are two Racer snakes in Ohio. One Racer is black with no markings. The other racer is blue and gray with a greenish cast. The Racer can go up to 8-10 miles per hour. They are non-venomous. Racers help farmers by eating rodents. Racers are found in all 88 Ohio counties. Ohio named the Black Racer the state reptile in 1995.

The official reptile of Ohio is the Black Racer Snake. The Black Racer Snake is one of the fastest snakes, moving at 8-10 miles an hour. It is called the Black Racer because of its speed and color. The Black Racer is an aggressive snake that bites, but it is non-poisonous.
Farmers like the Black Racer Snake because it kills off rodents that eat their crops. The Black Racer Snake is a very useful snake, but would not make a good pet.

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The white-tailed deer has been the official state mammal of Ohio since 1988.
Native’s used them for food. The deer hide was used for clothing. Their bones and antlers were used for tools.
By 1904, white-tailed deer no longer existed in Ohio. It was not until 1956 that deer existed in all Ohio counties and hunting was once again allowed. Ohio’s deer population is now over 550,000 animals.

Deer have two seasonal coats – a light tan summer coat and a greyish colored heavier coat for winter. Deer move at all times of the day but are less active during the light hours. Fawns are born in mid-May through July. In the first year a doe only has one fawn and 2 and sometimes 3 fawns after that. The young fawns leave their mothers after 10-12 weeks. The white tail deer is Ohio’s only big game species. The bucks lose their horns every year between December and March. They start regrowing them in early May. Ohio has a 6 month archery season for white tail deer. They also have a one week shotgun season for them. You can only harvest one buck per season and up to 8 does per season. White tail deer in Ohio were nearly extinct in the early 1900’s due to lost of habitat and lack of regulations.  There are now an estimated 675,000 deer in Ohio.

This snake became the official state reptile in 1995. It has smooth scales and has a light colored chin and jaw. The belly is usually dark from the throat to the tail. They look soft but are not. The biggest one on  record is 72”. They are constrictors and eat anything it over powers. I would like to see one in the wild.

White-tailed deer are the smallest of the North American deer family. White-tailed deer spend their summer grazing in the meadows. The does give birth to one to three babies at a time. Mountain lions like to eat white-tailed deer. Bucks’  antlers fall off in the winter. White-tailed deer are agile and resourceful.

“Hang on Sloopy” is Ohio’s state rock song. The McCoys wrote “Hang on Sloopy.” It was a number one hit on October 2, 1965. OSU Marching Band made it the first rock-n-roll song they played. In 1985 it became the official rock song for Ohio. We marched to the song in baton. I think it is a good song got Ohio.

The bullfrog is Ohio’s state frog. It weighs about 1 1/2 pounds and is about 6 inches long, not including their legs. Their legs are about 8-9 inches long. They hunt for their prey at night. They usually drown their prey and eat about anything. They live for 6-8 years. Some people keep them as pets, while others catch them just to eat their legs.

The white tailed deer are now protected in Ohio. Before there were no laws to protect deer. Right now deer live in each of the 88 counties. Their habitat had been destroyed. The tail flips up when the deer runs. Their tail has a white underside and that’s how they got their name. The white tail signals danger to other deer. I know I should protect deer in Ohio.

The official state animal is the white-tailed deer. It can run up to 40 miles per hour. It can jump nine foot fences. It became Ohio’s state animal in 1988. There are white-tailed deer in every county of Ohio. It is an animal of incredible beauty and power.

Ohio’s state tree is the Ohio Buckeye. Its botanical name is Aesculus glabro. The common name is buckeye. It was given this name from the Native Americans. They thought the seeds of the tree looked similar to the eye of a buck. The buckeye tree grows to a height of 30-50 feet. It grows to about 60-80 years old. I picked the Buckeye tree because I like the Ohio State Buckeyes.

The black racer snake is common in Ohio.  It was made the state reptile in 1995. The black racer is non-poisonous. This snake helps farmers by eating rodents. The black racer is normally three to five feet long. They are called racer snakes because they are faster than other snakes. The black racer snake is a natural resource of Ohio.

Black Racer Snakes are the fastest snake in the world. The black racer snake has smooth scales. Black Racer Snakes live in Ohio. A Black Racer Snake can grow from 20 inches to 30 inches. Black Racer Snakes eat insects. A Black Racer Snake is the fastest reptile. Maybe someday I can see one.

The Buckeye tree is the state tree of Ohio. It is not just located in Ohio but seven other states have it as their state tree. The tree is very poisonous.  It can even cause paralysis if eaten. The Buckeye tree is a small tree and its light weight wood can be used to make things like toys. The tree is usually planted for ornamental purposes like in parks. It blooms in March and its fruit appears in September and October. I am proud to be a fan of the Buckeyes and our state tree.

The nickname for Ohio and its inhabitants--Buckeye--became official in 1953 when the legislature named the Ohio Buckeye the state tree. The buckeye tree derives the name from its large brown seeds, which resemble the eyes of the white-tailed deer.

Ohio adopted the cardinal as its official bird in 1933. A permanent resident of Ohio, the cardinal is known for its clear, strong song and brilliant plumage.The northern cardinal is also the state bird for six other states:  Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The red carnation was adopted as Ohio's state flower in 1904 in memory of President William McKinley, who always wore a red carnation in his lapel.

Now deer live in all 88 Ohio counties.. From about 1904 to 1923 very few, if any, deer lived in Ohio. That’s because deer hunting was unregulated before the year 1900 and  there were no laws to protect deer. Also, the food, water, shelter, and space deer need to live had been destroyed.
Thanks to the Division of Wildlife, deer are back in Ohio. More than 450,000 whitetails live in the state. They returned because deer hunting is now highly regulated. Now there are so many deer living in Ohio, deer hunting is necessary to control the size of the deer herd. Deer hunting is the most popular type of hunting in Ohio.

State Fossil
Trilobite

State Insect
Ladybug

In 1955 the General Assembly adopted the black racer snake as the state reptile because it is native to all 88 Ohio counties and is called the “farmer’s friend” due to its tendency to diet on disease-carrying rodents.

Ohio leads the country in the production of tomato juice and is second only to California in tomato growing. Tomato juice became the state beverage in 1965.

State Native Fruit
Paw Paw

The official native fruit of the State of Ohio is the paw paw fruit.  It was adopted in January 2009.  The scientific name is asimina triloba. The fruit is very unique in that they resemble a short, fat banana, 2 ½ to 4 inches long.  It is first green, then yellow, then brown in the fall and tastes like a banana. It has an avocado-like texture and has a few large seeds.  The paw paw is nutritious, high in vitamin C, iron and a good source of potassium.  The paw paw grows on a tree.  The paw paw is the only edible fruit that is native to Ohio. Historians note that the paw paw has been around for 30,000 years. In the early 1500s, Indians were seen in the Ohio River Valley gathering paw paws and using them for trade.  Mid-September is the peak season for the paw paw harvest.

The salamander, Ambystoma maculatum, commonly known as the spotted salamander, became the official amphibian of Ohio on June 18, 2010.The spotted salamander is black with orange and yellow spots. It makes its home in wetland areas common to Ohio. It lives a quiet life, largely hidden from view, and grows to roughly 6-inches long. It can live for 20 years.

State Wildflower
White Trillium

In 1965, the Ohio General Assembly adopted flint as Ohio's official gemstone. Large quantities of this gem exist especially in the eastern and central parts of the state. Flint, a variety of quartz, is a hard and durable mineral. Native Americans, both prehistoric and historic, used flint to make a wide variety of tools, weapons, and ceremonial pieces. Early European settlers of Ohio also used flint for various objects, including millstones and rifle flints. Today, artists use flint to make attractive pieces of jewelry.