Herpetological Review 45(2), 2014 300 300 NATURAL HISTORY NOTES CAUDATA — SALAMANDERS DESMOGNATHUS QUADRAMACULATUS (Black-bellied Sala- mander). DIET. Desmognathus quadramaculatus (Plethod- ontidae) is found in mountainous regions from southern West Virginia south to northern Georgia (Petranka 1998. Salamanders of the United States and Canada, pp. 282–287. Smithsonian In- stitution Press, Washington, DC, 587 pp.). Herein I report on the inclusion of yellow jacket wasps (Vespula sp.) in the diet of a wild D. quadramaculatus. At ~0840 h, on 25 October 2012, I observed a young adult D. quadramaculatus after turning a stone in a small first-order stream in Rich Mountain Wildlife Management Area, Gilmer Co., Georgia, USA (34.77847°N, 84.30125°W, datum WGS84; elev. 681 m). Upon capture, the specimen regurgitated its stomach contents, which included the partial remains of at least two yellow jacket wasps (Vespula sp.; Fig. 1). Hymenopterans and “aerial prey” have been documented in dietary studies of D. quadramaculatus (Martof and Scott 1957. Ecology 38:494–501; Davic 1991. J. Herpetol. 25:108–111). However, no predation on Vespula has been previously reported and to my knowledge this is the first documentation of this genus in the diet of D. quadramaculatus. Of further interest is that the salamander showed no obvious symptoms or injuries related to anti- predatory wasp stings. Editorial assistance provided by J. R. Mendelson, III, and wasp identification confirmed by M. Goodisman. ROBERT L. HILL, Department of Herpetology, Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia 30315, USA; e-mail: rhill@zooatlanta.org. NECTURUS MACULOSUS (Mudpuppy). DIET. Our surveys for Necturus maculosus (see below; Cochran and Borash 2014. Her- petol. Rev. 45:301–302) provided data on diet in a region where little information is available. Mudpuppies were collected by backpack electrofishing (pulsed DC) at three locations in tribu- taries of the Mississippi River in Minnesota, USA: Salem Creek, Dodge Co., 14 May 2009 (N = 5; mean total length = 24.5 cm); Upper Iowa River downstream, Fillmore Co., 07 April 2009 (N = 1; total length = 29 cm); Upper Iowa River upstream, Fillmore Co., 02 June 2009 (N = 1; total length = 17.4 cm). For precise locations of these sites, see Cochran and Borash 2014 (op. cit.) Gut con- tents were obtained by gastric lavage with a plastic squirt bottle, and, in one case, from a fecal pellet released by a specimen held overnight. Based on previous reports (e.g., Harris 1959. Field and Laboratory 27:105–111; Cochran and Lyons 1985. Herpetol. Rev. 16:53), it was not surprising that six of seven mudpuppies had eaten aquatic insects (Table 1). However, all five Mudpuppies from Salem Creek had eaten Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) tadpoles, and one contained an earthworm and a slug on a day when a recent rain had washed many of both taxa into the stream. One 25-cm Mudpuppy from Salem Creek contained a 46-mm Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum), and another contained small ctenoid fish scales that were most likely from a darter. The freshness of the darter raised the possibility that it NATURAL HISTORY NOTES NATURAL HISTORY NOTES Fig. 1. Desmognathus quadramaculatus with regurgitated remains of Vespula sp. PHOTO BY ROBERT L. HILL taBle 1. Prey items recovered from Mudpuppies (Necturus maculo- sus). The total number of prey of each type is indicated, along with the fraction of stomachs in which each prey type occurred and the lengths of individual prey items that were relatively intact. * = from walking legs. Prey type Number Frequency Prey length (mm) Earthworm 1 1/7 84 Slug 1 1/7 13 Crayfish 2 claws* 1/7 Heptageneid mayfly nymphs 13+ 4/7 5,9,10 Caddisfly larval cases 2 2/7 Tipulid cranefly larva 1 1/7 36 Chironomid midge larvae 4 2/7 5,6 Arthropod fragments N/A 1/7 Rainbow Darter 1 1/7 46 Ctenoid fish scales (darter?) 6 2/7 Green Frog tadpoles 7 5/7 25,45