Scarlet kingsnake

Appearance

Scarlet kingsnakes have a tricolored pattern of black, red, white, and various shades of yellow bands that appear to mimic the venomous coral snake in a form of Batesian mimicry. A method to help differentiate between venomous and non-venomous tricolor snakes in North America is found in the popular phrases "red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, venom lack", "red on yellow's a deadly fellow; yellow on black's a friendly Jack", "if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow; if red touches black, you're all right, Jack", and "red and black is a friend of Jack" as well as "red on black, friend of Jack; red on yellow, kill a fellow" and "red band near black, venom lack; red band near yellow, bite a fellow". For tri-colored snakes found east of the Mississippi River, all of these phrases can be replaced with the simple phrase, "Red face, I'm safe", in reference to the red snout of scarlet kingsnakes as opposed to the prominent black snout of the eastern coral snake.

Scarlet kingsnakes are born with white, black, and red banding. As they mature, they develop varying shades of yellow within geographic areas where this is expressed. In addition, the yellowing is not uniform, but rather this pigmentation proceeds from lighter to darker from the lowermost scales upward to the dorsum, or "back", presenting a multiple yellowish band. Early expression of yellowing appears as early as 3 months and continues through the first 3 years. As adults age, a gradual darkening of the yellowish banding occurs. The yellow pigmentation varies from lemon, to school-bus yellow, to tangerine, to apricot.

Scarlet kingsnakes are secretive, nocturnal, fossorial snakes, so are infrequently seen by people. They are excellent climbers. They can be found underneath the loose bark on rotting pines, under the bark on dying or decaying pines and their stumps, and decaying wood, where they hunt for their favorite prey, small snakes and lizards, especially skinks. Hatchling scarlet kingsnakes show a strong predisposition for ground skinks, often to the exclusion of other prey items.

Naming

Until recently, and for much of the 20th century, were considered a subspecies of the milk snake; however, Pyron and Bubrink demonstrated the phylogenetic distinction of this species and its closer relationship to the mountain kingsnakes of the southwestern United States. These largely fossorial snakes are the smallest of all the species within the genus "Lampropeltis", usually ranging from 40 to 50 cm at maturity. The maximum recorded length is in Jonesboro, AR 76.2 cm. Hatchlings range in size from 8 to 18 cm.