Eastern Milksnake
Lampropeltis triangulum • Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Lampropeltis, Species: L. triangulum
Found throughout eastern North America, ranging from southern Ontario and Quebec south to northern Georgia and Alabama, and west to the Mississippi River.
Look up Eastern Milksnake in the Snake Encyclopedia →Family
Order: Squamata, Suborder: Serpentes, Family: Colubridae, Subfamily: Colubrinae, Genus: Lampropeltis, Species: L. triangulum
Conservation
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Threats include habitat loss from urban development, road mortality, and intentional killing due to misidentification.
Physical Description
Displays a distinct pattern of dark blotches (brown, grey, or reddish) bordered in black against a lighter grey, tan, or whitish background. The head often features a light Y-shaped or V-shaped marking on the back of the neck. Scales are smooth and glossy.
Size & Dimensions
This specimen appears to be a juvenile, approximately 25-35 cm in total length. Adults typically range from 60 to 130 cm.
Habitat
Occurs in a wide variety of habitats including fields, forested regions, rocky hillsides, agricultural land, and near barns or old foundations. Elevation ranges from sea level to over 2,000 meters.
Diet & Feeding
Preys primarily on small mammals such as mice and voles, as well as lizards, birds, bird eggs, and occasionally other snakes. Hunts actively or waits in ambush, subduing prey through constriction.
Reproduction
Oviparous species. Females lay clutches of 2 to 24 eggs in rotting logs, loose soil, or under rocks during early summer, which hatch in late summer or early autumn.
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List status is Least Concern. Threats include habitat loss from urban development, road mortality, and intentional killing due to misidentification.
Cultural Significance
Historically associated with folklore claiming they milked cows in barns, a biological impossibility. Important ecologically for controlling rodent populations.
Notable Features
Possesses cryptic coloration that provides exceptional camouflage among leaf litter. Often vibrates its tail in dry leaves when threatened to mimic rattlesnakes.