HARMLESS. The Prairie Kingsnake is characterized by smooth scales, a single anal scale, two rows of scales on the underside of the tail, a light and dark pattern on the belly, and 40- 78 dark gray or brown blotches on the back. The head, body, and tail of this snake are brown or gray. The dark gray or brown blotches on the back are edged with black. Two to three series of small brown or gray spots on the sides alternate with the blotches on the back. The belly is white with dark irregular markings. Adult males have slightly longer tails and grow larger than females. The young are more brightly and contrastingly patterned than adults. The neck is not clearly defined. The tongue is deep red and tipped by black.
Adults normally grow 76.0-106.7 cm (30-42 inches) in total length. The largest specimen from Kansas is a male (KU 192452) from Miami County with a total length of 132.4 cm (52 inches) collected by R. B. Hager on 23 September 1982. The maximum length throughout range is 142.9 cm (56¼ inches) (Bird et al., 2005; Powell et al., 2016). The maximum weight for Kansas specimen is 405 grams (slightly over 14 ounces). Males have relatively longer tails (15.2% of SVL) compared to females (13.5% of SVL) and reach a greater length (870 mm vs 823 mm) and mass (216 gms vs. 176.5 gms) respectively (Fitch, 1979).
This species occurs throughout the eastern two-thirds of Kansas and enters the southwestern quarter along the tributaries of the Arkansas and Cimarron rivers.
Fitch (1979) studied the Prairie Kingsnake in Harvey County (central Kansas) and northeastern Kansas, and much of the information from Kansas is taken from his observations.
The Prairie Kingsnake inhabits a variety of areas, including rocky hillsides with open woods, prairie grassland, and sand prairies. It is very secretive, and when not actively prowling for food, it retreats beneath rocks or down burrows of other animals. Prairie Kingsnakes are normally active from April to October and, like many other snakes, become nocturnal during the hot summer months. Prairie Kingsnakes are often the first terrestrial snakes active each year. With the approach of winter, this species retreats beneath the ground, probably in small mammal burrows. During an unseasonably mild spell of weather, Capron (1986) observed a Prairie Kingsnake active on 6 February in Cowley County.
Prairie Kingsnakes breed in early spring following emergence from winter inactivity, but some females may not breed every
season. The eggs are laid in June or July and hatch in late August or September. Number of eggs per clutch for this species ranges from five to seventeen (Fitch, 1985) and averages nine to eleven; the eggs hatch in one to three months. The young attain sexual maturity in their second or third season (Fitch, 1979). Courtship behavior is not well documented but includes male-male combat.
This snake constricts its prey. According to Fitch (1982), it feeds primarily on small mammals, small snakes, and lizards. Fitch (1979) found that of 66 recorded food items, 66% by volume, was Prairie Voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Burt (1935) reported on a young Prairie Kingsnake that was swallowed by an adult North American Racer near Lake City, Kansas, on 31 August 1934, and that an adult Six-lined Racerunner was regurgitated from the stomach of a half-grown Prairie Kingsnake at Lamont, Kansas, on 19 May 1934.
Predators of the Prairie Kingsnake include owls, hawks, mammals, and other large snakes (Collins, 1993).
First definitely reported from Kansas by Hallowell (1857) referenced three specimens on hand from Kansas that were received from Fort Riley surgeon William H. Hammond. The earliest existing specimen (USNM 44368) was collected at Cairo,Pratt County, by Basil H. Dutcher (a biologist/mammalogist with the US Bureau of Biological Survey [=US Fish and Wildlife Service] and son of famed ornithologist William Dutcher) on 4 August 1892. Branson (1904) reported examining specimens from Scott, Gove, and Logan counties which outside of its range as currently described. Tiehen (1937) reported a specimen removed from the stomach of a Great Horned Owl one mile east of Coolidge in Hamilton County.
These snakes utilize a wide variety of habitats. They are found in prairies, (including sand prairies), open grassland, fields, pastures, in ditches along cultivated field and roads, woodlands, and some stream valleys and associated bluffs. They are most common in grasslands along forest edges and are only occasionally found in sand prairies. They also do not appear to be found deep in heavy woodlands very often.
When disturbed, this snake rapidly vibrates its tail, producing a buzzing sound when the tail is vibrated amidst leaves or resonant objects. Males of this snake apparently engage in combat dances which involve biting.
Based on a captive specimen, Snider and Bowler (1992) reported a maximum longevity for this species of 23 years, eight months, and 23 days.
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Houck, Mike. 2011. Fort Riley Herpetofaunal Survey for 2011. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (39):9.
Rohweder, Megan R. 2012. Spatial conservation prioritization of Kansas for terrestrial vertebrates. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 151 pp.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2012. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada: Second Edition, Revised and Updated. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 152 pp.
Miller, Larry L. 2013. Wellington Lake Herpetological Survey. Collinsorum 2(1/2):12.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2012 Spring Field Trip to Bourbon County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):3.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2013 Spring Field Trip to Schermerhorn Park, Cherokee County. Collinsorum 2(3/4):4.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2013 Summer Field Trip to Coldwater Lake, Comanche County. Collinsorum 2(3/4):5.
Taggart, Travis W. 2013. KHS 2013 Fall Field Trip to Butler County State Lake. Collinsorum 2(3/4):6.
Mardis, Dexter and Kevin Scott. 2013. 2013 Kansas Herpetofaunal Counts. Collinsorum 2(3/4):7.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Results of the 2014 KHS Spring Field Trip to Barber County. Collinsorum 3(2-4):11.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Results of the 2014 KHS Fall Field Trip to Woodson County. Collinsorum 3(2-4):12.
Taggart, Travis W. 2014. Recent scientific and standard English name changes effecting the Kansas herpetofauna. Collinsorum 3(2-4):9-10.
Brown, Kasandra A. 2015. Occupancy Modeling Of Herpetofauna And Grassland Nesting Birds At Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. Thesis. Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. 72 pp.
Houck, Mike. 2015. 2015 Fort Riley Herpetofaunal Count final report. Collinsorum 4(1):10-11.
Taggart, Travis W. 2015. Spring Field Trip to the Greenhorn Limestone of Russell County. Collinsorum 4(3):2.
Taggart, Travis W. 2015. Summer Field Trip In The Harvey County Sandhills. Collinsorum 4(3):3.
Taggart, Travis W. 2015. Fall Field Trip Held In Washington County. Collinsorum 4(3):4.
Pittman, Galen L., Henry S. Fitch, and W. Dean Kettle. 2016. Vertebrate animals on the Fitch Natural History Reservation (1948-2002). Kansas Biological Survey Report Number 188, Lawrence. 48 pp.
Powell, Robert, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. 2016. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston. 494 pp.
Taggart, Travis W. 2016. Results of the KHS Summer field trip to Caney River, Chautauqua County, Kansas. Collinsorum 5(2-3):4-5.
Taggart, Travis W. 2016. Results of the KHS ‘Fall’ field trip to Barber County. Collinsorum 5(2-3):6-7.
Taggart, Travis W. and J. Daren Riedle. 2017. A Pocket Guide to
Kansas Amphibians,
Turtles and Lizards. Great Plains Nature Center, Wichita, Kansas. 69 pp.
Crother, Brian I. (editor). 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding. Eighth edition. Herpetological Circulars (43):1-102.
Mardis, Dexter R. 2017. Results from three Herpetofaunal tallies at Wichita State University’s Youngmeyer Ranch in Northwestern
Elk County. Collinsorum 6(1):8-10.
Taggart, Travis W. 2017. Results of the 2017 KHS Spring Field Trip to Elk County, Kansas. Collinsorum 6(2-3):6-8.
McKelvy, Alexander and Frank T. Burbrink. 2017. Ecological divergence in the Yellow-bellied Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) at two North American biodiversity hotspots. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 106(2017):61-72.
Burbrink, Frank T. and Marcelo Gehara. 2018. The biogeography of deep time phylogenetic reticulation. Systematic Biology 67(5):743–755.
Powell, Robert, Joseph T Collins, and Errol D Hooper Jr. 2019. Key to the Herpetofauna of the Continental United States and Canada. Third Edition. Univ Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. 192 pp.
Daniel, Richard E. and Brian S. Edmond. 2020. Atlas of Missouri Amphibians and Reptiles for 2019. Privately printed, Columbia, Missouri. 86 pp.
Riedle, J. Daren. 2020. Revisiting Kansas Herpetological Society field trip and Herp Count data:
Distributional patterns and trend data of Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Collinsorum 9(1):7-16.
Hullinger, Allison, Zackary Cordes, Daren Riedle, and William Stark. 2020. Habitat assessment of the Broad-headed Skink (Plestiodon laticeps)
and the associated squamate community in eastern Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 123(1-2):137-150.
Riedle, J. Daren and George R. Pisani. 2020. Revisiting old data to answer modern conservation questions: Population modeling of two species in kingsnakes, Lampropeltis sp. in Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 123(1-2):225-233.
Taggart, Travis W and Sarah L Taggart. 2021. Herp Count: Cherokee County: KHS-2020-02. Collinsorum 9(3):11-12.