REPTILES. 105 



unite to form transverse bars. The ring around the neck is orange, 

 edged with black. It is one or two scales in width. Upper labials 

 yellow." 



Hahlts and Hahitat: But little has been recorded on the habits 

 of this snake. B}' far the best account is that of Ditmars (1907, 

 335). ''The Ringnecked snake is a secretive species, hiding under 

 the loose, rotting bark of fallen trees, among loose rocks or under 

 flat stones. It is seldom seen abroad and if it ventures from its 

 lairs, usually i)rowls at night. In the North the writer has col- 

 lected large numbers of these pretty snakes b}" turning over flat 

 stones. He remembers a particular stone, about the size of an ordi- 

 nary i)latter, lying near the edge of heavy timber, in Sullivan 

 County, New York, that appeared to be a favorite hiding place for 

 snakes of this species. In his daily trips to the woods, this stone 

 was always turned over, and generally to disclose a ring-necked 

 snake, snugly coiled beneath it. Many specimens were taken at 

 this spot. They had apparently prowled about the clearing at 

 night and on their way back to the thicket, and its hiding places, 

 had discovered the shelving stone. 



"In the South, large numbers of these reptiles were collected by 

 stripping the bark from fallen trees. To find fifty or more speci- 

 mens during a half-days hunt for various reptiles that select such 

 hiding places, was not unusual. The Ringnecked Snakes were most 

 frequently found under the bark of trees infested by" ants; often 

 the working streams of these insects would pass but a fraction of 

 an inch from the spot where the reptile lay coiled. In one instance, 

 while pursuing some entomological investigations during the early 

 spring, the writer exliumed one of these snakes while digging 

 through a large and thickly populated ant hill." 



The Oakland County specimen (see below) was found under the 

 bark of a decaying stum[). 



It has been said to feed on the following forms : snakes. lizards, 

 amphibians, insects and earthworms. S])ecific records are as fol- 

 lows: green snake, Liopeltis vernalis^ and red-bellied snakes, 

 Storeria occipifoiiuiciilata (Ditmars, 1907, 330) ; frog, Engystoma 

 caroUnense (Cope, 1900, 753) ; beetles and earthworms, (Atkinson, 

 1901, 148) ; insects (beetles and undetermined fragments), sala- 

 mander, Pletliodon cinereus, and undetermined remains (Surface, 

 1906, 173). 



The ringnecked snake is oviparous. The following account of the 

 breeding habits is from Surface (1900, 172). "The latent gonads 

 or undeveloped eggs are one-fourth inch in length and commence to 



