Scarlet Kingsnake

“The month of March comes with a few certainties in the southeastern United States. Winter will end, smoke will fill the air, and snakes will begin their springtime routines. While the landscape may appear rather lifeless for a few weeks after a controlled burn, the ecosystem is coming back to life beneath the charred surface. Abundant sunshine reaches the forest floor, sometimes in places it hasn’t for several years between fire cycles. New spring growth will soon carpet the ground as days continue to get longer and warmer, and many reptiles are emerging from their brief period of winter inactivity in Georgia’s coastal plain.

 

While the forest was still smoldering from a recent burn, I discovered this vibrant adult Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides) beneath a charred log on the bare sand. These diminutive kingsnakes are the most common Lampropeltis species on sandhills that see frequent fire, living mostly below the sand and inside dead trees. Like many Lampropeltis, Scarlet Kingsnakes seldom bask in the traditional sense. They prefer to remain just below the surface buried in the sand, sun warmed leaf litter, or a small log in this case. They’re more likely to be seen on the surface at night, where they’ll wander in search of a mate or sleeping lizards to eat. I love the way these vibrant snakes pop against the burned substrate when discovered in habitat, they’re a true harbinger of spring and warmer days to come!” – Noah Fields