Red-backed Salamanders

This is a red-backed salamander. I think they are so cute! I have caught a lot before here in PA. Once I even found one with her eggs. Here is some information that I found on them:

Red-backed Salamanders are our most common salamander. They are easy to recognize, with their black bodies and bright red stripe down the middle of their backs. They can also be black without the red stripe, but usually they have the stripe. Their bellies are black and white.
This salamander grows to about five inches long.

Red-backed Salamanders can be found under rocks, logs, moss, dead leaves, or inside rotting stumps. When disturbed, they will crawl into tunnels or under leaves.
Unlike most salamanders, Red-backs do not spend any part of their lives in the water. Most salamanders have to lay their eggs in water. These lay their eggs in a cluster, like grapes, hanging underneath a rock or inside an old log. They are born looking like mini-salamanders, about an inch long.

Red-backed Salamanders do not have lungs, even though they live on land. They breathe through their skin, which must be moist at all times. They come out from their hiding places at night after a rain. This is when they do most of their hunting.
Red-backed Salamanders eat small arthropods, including insects and spiders.
Female salamanders mate every other year. When she lays eggs, she will guard them for two months until they hatch, coiling her body around them.

Red-backed Salamanders help make soil better for plants and animals when they tunnel through it. Nutrients in the soil get mixed and plants can pull them into their roots more easily. Small animals such as mites and beetles find it easier to move around in the soil.