Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)

Northern Ring-neck Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii)

These distinctive, docile small snakes are most often found under logs searching for prey such as earthworms and salamanders. You won't find them hanging from bushes! This one was under a pile of 4x4s - I temporarily placed it in this bush for a better background.

Carroll Co., VA 4/26/03.

Northern Ring-neck Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) In the northern subspecies edwardsii, found in the Mountains and Piedmont of North Carolina, the neck ring is complete and the belly is an unspotted orange.
Northern Ring-neck Snake (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) The poor thing must have been upset to blow such a big bubble, so I removed it from the bush and let it crawl back under a log.
Ring-neck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)

The southern subspecies, punctatus, of the Coastal Plain has a broken neck ring and spotted belly (hence the name punctatus, which literally means spotted). This snake appears to be intermediate.

Weymouth Woods State Park, Moore Co., NC 3/22/08.

All photographs and text ©2013 by Will Cook unless otherwise noted.