Milk Snake: farmer’s friend or foe?

A couple of weekends back, I attended the Sussex County Bird Club annual picnic in New Jersey. The member who was hosting it had a fair sized tract of land near the base of the Kittatinny Ridge, and the fields and wetlands held a diverse range of fauna and flora. A bit of excitement was in the air when someone spotted a snake sunning itself near an old piece of plywood lying in the field. The snake had black-ringed reddish-brown spots, with eyes that matched the brown spots. Smooth scales made this snake shine in the sunlight.

This two-foot snake turned out to be a milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). It was probably using the plywood for shelter and came out for a quick bask in the sun; the milk snake is primarily nocturnal. It is non-venomous, but it is sometimes confused with the venomous copperhead because of similar shaped patterns on the back. The copperhead lacks patterns on the head, however. The milk snake has a distinct pattern on the head, usually showing a “Y” or a “V” within a brown patch just behind the broadest part of the head.

There is some folklore concerning this species: it is said that the milk snake can take milk directly from a cow’s udder. In reality, however, the milk snake has neither the ability nor the inclination to perform this feat. It prefers small rodents, and can enter narrow burrows and prey on rodents or their young. With a diet like this, the milk snake wins the vote for a farmer’s friend.