Redbellies travel to hibernating sites

We don’t have many snakes in the northland, but one of our most colorful species is on the move this month. The redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) is a small forest snake with a pencil-thin body 8-12 inches long. It gets its name from a distinctive red belly and a brown or black back. It also has three yellow spots on its neck like a necklace.

Even veteran hikers and naturalists don’t see many redbelly snakes in their travels, even though they are found across the northland.

Part of the perceived scarcity of redbellies has to do with their behavior. They prefer moist forest and woodland edges near marshes, bogs, lakes and clearings and they shelter under rocks and logs during the day, when humans are most active. They emerge at night to feed on earthworms, beetle grubs (larvae), and slugs. Since few humans are out at night and even fewer of us are walking near wetlands with red-filtered flashlights looking for snakes, we don’t often run across the redbellies.

Since redbellies are so small, they don’t threaten people with their teeth. By some accounts, they will just release a foul-smelling liquid if disturbed or play dead.

The reason that you are more likely to see redbellies this time of year is because they are migrating to their winter hibernation sites in mixed woods. You can also see evidence of redbellies who tried to cross the road and didn’t make it past the traffic. Redbellies often spend winter in empty ant mounds, tree stumps, rock crevices and old animal burrows. During rainy weather, people might see dozens of snakes moving through the woods.

Unlike many snake species, which lay eggs, redbellies give birth to 7-8 live young in late August. By giving birth to live young, like the more common common garter snakes, redbelly young can more quickly begin growing and a month later, travel to hibernation sites at the same time as their parents.

While we often notice the bright colors on maple leaves, don’t forget to keep looking for the bright-colored reptiles that share our woods.