18 SERPENTS OF THE NORTHEASTERN STATES 



skin, most specimens are of a greenish-gray hue. Its smooth scala- 

 tion and whitish underside immediately distinguish it from the next 

 described species, which also is uniformly green above. 



The green snake is most frequently found in wild meadows. Its 

 occurrence is erratic. It is common in some portions of the Kittatinny 

 Mountains and the Catskills. There are equally favorable areas, from 

 the viewpoint of topographic conditions, where it is seldom seen. Its 

 occurrence is thus "spotty" in the whole northeastern area. 



This is one of the few insectivorous serpents. It feeds largely 

 upon soft-bodied insect larvae, crickets, grasshoppers and spiders. 

 It is oviparous, depositing elongate, soft eggs under flat stones. 



General range: Southern Canada to Florida; westward to the 

 central States and in the south to New Mexico. 



Keeled Green Snake 



Opheodrys aestivus (Linne) 



(Fig. 7) 



Except in New Jersey, this species is rare in the area under con- 

 sideration. It has been recorded in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, 

 but does not appear to occur in the northerly New England area. It 

 is pale green above and bright yellow beneath, the under hue making 

 it distinct from the other local green snake. A point for instant 

 identification, however, is its keeled scales, imparting a rough ap- 

 pearance in place of the satiny surface of the common species. 



This is essentially a southern species. New Jersey and southern 

 Pennsylvania might be considered as the northerly limit of the normal 

 range. Daniel Carter Beard, council officer of the Boy Scouts of 

 America, has written that he has found the species at Hawley, Penn- 

 sylvania, which is north of the latitude of Port Jervis, and a number 

 of years ago I found several specimens of this snake near Waterbury, 

 Connecticut. They were in a grapevine attached to the side of an 

 old farmhouse. It is a larger species than the smooth green snake, 

 attains a length of about three feet, and is more arboreal in habits. 



Feeding is similar to the former species, and it is also oviparous. 



General range: Pine barrens of New Jersey to Florida; westward 

 to southern Illinois and south to New Mexico. 



Blacksnake 



(Black Racer) 



Coluber constrictor constrictor (Linne) 



(Figs. 8, 9) 



This is the largest of the broadly distributed local serpents, with 

 the exception of the somewhat similar mountain or pilot blacksnake. 



