Scarlet kingsnake

A scarlet kingsnake in leaf litter in Wayne County, Georgia, photographed in January 2017. Its rings of red, black and pale yellow or white copy the eastern coral snake, a venomous neighbor in the Southeast, although this kingsnake itself is harmless. The bluff works only where the model lives. In a 2001 study in the Carolinas, predators attacked plasticine snakes painted with the ringed pattern less often than plain or striped ones in coral snake country, but the rings gave no such protection where coral snakes were absent. The difference to look for: on this mimic, black bands keep the red away from the pale rings; on the coral snake, red and yellow touch.