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Northern Redbelly Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)

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Family: Colubridae

Size: 8-10 in.

Status: Common

Description: This small snake has a reddish-brown to steel gray background color with a broad light mid-dorsal stripe and two narrow darker stripes on each side. The underside is a bright red to orange, edged with dark blue-black. Habitats include boreal forests, sphagnum bogs, and northern and southern hardwood forests and adjacent fields. Redbelly snakes eat slugs, earthworms, and beetle larvae. This species is often seen in large numbers on warm sunny days in September or October basking on back roads and bicycle trails.