There has been no shortage of surprises and changes to the island regarding wildlife and habitat since Hurricane Ian in 2022. To add another, the confirmation of a scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea) on Sanibel is the first of its species in recorded history for the island.

Found by Wes Hatch, an active birder/naturalist who was visiting the island on Sept. 1, it follows the recent documentation of a similar species, the scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides), which was previously documented only once in the 1970s.

Both of these nonvenomous snakes — the scarlet snake and scarlet kingsnake — mimic the venomous eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius).

However, with their red, black, and yellow bands, scarlet snakes and scarlet kingsnakes can be distinguished rather easily from coral snakes.

How to tell if venomous or not

“Red on yellow, kill a fellow” is an old rhyme that has several variations depending on where you live in the United States. The general theme of these rhymes is that the light color — whether it be yellow or white — separates all red and black bands.

“If black and red bands are touching, then it is one of the two nonvenomous mimics. This is only true in the United States and should not be followed in southern Mexico and Central America,” said SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Director Chris Lechowicz.

Scarlet snakes can be differentiated from scarlet kingsnakes by looking at the ventral (belly) side.

“They have an all-white belly as opposed to scarlet kingsnakes, whose bands form a complete circle all the way around the snake,” he added.

Other distinguishing features:

• Scarlet kingsnakes have a red nose area
• Scarlet snakes have red bands throughout the upper body, except for the one across the head, which is orange

Scarlet snakes have a peculiar diet. They primarily feed on the eggs of reptiles and consume lizards and small snakes.  Their posterior teeth are designed to slice through reptile eggs, allowing them to consume the contents.

Both species are native to Lee County but have never successfully colonized Sanibel. It is believed that both snake species were likely brought in with plantings.

“Time will tell if more of these beautiful and harmless snakes make more appearances on the island,” he said.

History of venomous snakes on island

Coral snakes are one of the two venomous snakes known to have existed on the island but are now considered extirpated (extinct in an area). The other is the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus).

The last documented evidence of an eastern coral snake on the island was a photograph from Sanibel Gardens in 2002. However, one neonate (baby) eastern diamondback rattlesnake showed up on a causeway island in 2015. This likely floated in from Pine Island or another nearby location.

“We don’t know why the coral snakes are now gone, because they were a relatively common snake on the island throughout the 1960s to the 1980s and even held the Florida size record for a while,” said Lechowicz. “They are also very secretive, as with most highly colored snakes, and eat primarily lizards, frogs, and smaller snakes.”

A hypothesis regarding the disappearance of the eastern coral snake is related to its diet. Biomagnification or bioaccumulation — the process by which toxins ingested by animals low in the food web increase in toxicity as they are transferred to the next higher level in the food web because of predation — could be the cause.

For example, if a cricket eats contaminated plant matter with pollutants (pesticides, mercury, etc.) and then a frog eats the cricket, the frog assimilates a higher dose of toxin (as much as 10% higher).

“If a coral snake eats the frog that ate the same cricket, the level of toxicity has increased twice, which may be fatal,” explained Lechowicz.

Please report sightings of any of these snake species through our wildlife reporting app.