Spooky Species: 7 Creepy Critters Lurking in Minnesota’s Wilderness

As Halloween creeps closer and haunted hayrides, scary movies, and cobwebs set the scene, we’re turning our attention towards nature’s real-life creepy crawlies. These eerie organisms might give you the chills, but they play crucial roles in Minnesota’s ecosystems. Get to know the frightful plants and critters that help keep the balance in our natural world.

1. Bats

A classic fixture in Halloween decorations, these nocturnal creatures support Minnesota agriculture by eating a variety of pests that damage crops and forest land. Due to their unique wings, they are the only mammals in the world that are capable of true flight. There are many different species of bats in Minnesota, with the most common being the Big Brown Bat, identifiable by its large body and glossy brown fur. Usually found in urban areas, these bats like to find a building to make their summer maternity habitat, which they’ll return to each year to raise their young. The previous most common bat species in Minnesota, the Little Brown Myotis (little brown bat) was severely impacted by white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease causing white patches and starvation.

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2. Ghost Pipes

While their ghostly appearance may look eerie, the lack of pigment is actually due to the lack of chlorophyll. Since they are missing the chemical essential for photosynthesis, Ghost Pipes receive nutrients from nearby mycorrhizal fungi that tap into the roots of trees. However, they don't keep their ghost-like appearance forever, and their pale white color eventually turns a dark brown. They spend most of their lives underground, only breaking through the surface to spread seeds and bear a single flower, which curves downwards. These plants can grow in small clusters or solitary and typically are found in shaded woodlands. Photo by Kelly Schmidt / P&TC Photo Contest

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3. Spiders

Those with arachnophobia may not agree, but spiders in Minnesota are harmless to humans. While they might startle you when you see one in your home, spiders are extremely beneficial in nature due to the large number of insects they eat. They are not dangerous or aggressive, and very rarely bite people. Just like insects, arachnids are anthropods, which means that their skeletons are outside of their body. Web-building spiders capture their food by building webs and trapping their prey, living near their web in undisturbed areas. Hunting spiders live outside, using their agility and good eyesight to capture their food. Photo by Aaron Kostko / P&TC Photo Contest

4. Sundews

The idea of carnivorous plants may sound unsettling, but they have an essential purpose in our ecosystem as they help tame the populations of pesky insects such as mosquitos. Making up the largest group of carnivorous plants, Sundews are ‘flypaper’ plants, meaning they trap their prey in sticky hairs on their leaves. They have long tentacles that extend from their leaves, each with a sticky gland at the tip. This feature is where the Sundew gets its name, as these glands mimic the appearance of dew twinkling in the sun. These glands have a variety of uses—they have nectar that attracts prey, adhesive to trap it, and digestive enzymes to finally consume it. Once an insect is stuck to the adhesive, neighboring tentacles wrap around to suffocate it. Photo by Eveli Rammul

5. Ravens

Spotting these large black birds may seem ominous, but these highly intelligent corvids are far more than just a reference in an Edgar Allan Poe poem. In the same family as crows, they are extremely common in woodlands, specifically coniferous forests. They have exceptionally large brains for their size, which leads to a plethora of unique behaviors. They are known to use tools to help them acquire food and defend their territory, and in human care they can even mimic human speech. In the wilderness, ravens are omnivorous and opportunistic eaters, and will eat everything from berries, eggs, and small mammals.

6. Pitcher Plants

Thriving in Minnesota's peat bogs like Big Bog State Recreation Area, Pitcher Plants are one of the most common carnivorous plants in our state. Aptly named for its shape, the plant is designed for insects to fall into the pitcher like a pit trap. To keep the insect from being able to climb its way out, the plant’s insides are covered in downward-pointed hairs, and the insect typically drowns due to the rainwater that fills the bottom. Photo by Mandy Fuller / P&TC Photo Contest

7. Snakes

While their slithering may give some the creeps, the vast majority of the snakes in Minnesota are completely harmless. Similar to bats and spiders, snakes play an essential role in our ecosystem by controlling pest populations and as well as functioning as a food source for other predators. The species that pops up the most in Minnesotan homes and yards is the common garter snake, a harmless critter with three yellow stripes down their small black or brown bodies. Out of the 17 snake species in our state only two are venomous, which are the Timber Rattlesnake and the Eastern Massasauga. These are only found in the southeastern counties, and are very rarely encountered by people. To scare away predators, some harmless snake species will copy the sound of rattlesnakes by shaking their tails. Photo by Aaron Kostko / P&TC Photo Contest

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