Eastern Kingsnake

How to identify

• Shiny black body with white or pale yellow chain-link crossbands
• Smooth scales
• Stout, cylindrical body
• Round pupils
• White or yellow belly with dark markings

About this species

A strikingly patterned black snake with white or yellow chain-like markings, the eastern kingsnake is one of Virginia's most beneficial predators. They are immune to pit viper venom and regularly eat copperheads and other venomous snakes — earning their 'king' title. They are powerful constrictors and will also eat other snakes, lizards, rodents, and turtle eggs.

Often confused with

Did you know

"Eastern kingsnakes are immune to the venom of all North American pit vipers — copperheads, cottonmouths, and rattlesnakes — and actively hunt them."

Sightings & citizen science

Help document Virginia wildlife by logging your sightings on iNaturalist. Every observation builds the conservation data that researchers and rehabbers depend on.