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Black kingsnake

Lampropeltis getula · Snakes · Reptiles

Black kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula): Eastern kingsnake adults 61-153 cm: large, solid, glossy black with yellow (sometimes white) crossbars. Head solid black with yellow or white spots on head scales. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Black kingsnake — verified North Ground species photograph
North Ground · All rights reserved
Scientific name
Lampropeltis getula
Family
Colubridae
In North America
Native
Range
Eastern West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey south through the southeastern United States to southern Alabama.
Biology

How to identify it

Eastern kingsnake adults 61-153 cm: large, solid, glossy black with yellow (sometimes white) crossbars. [1][2]

Head solid black with yellow or white spots on head scales. [1][2]

Speckled kingsnake (L. g. holbrooki) is black with yellow specks on the scales, belly pale yellow to white. [1][2]

Hatchlings 20-28 cm. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Wide range of habitats, often in or near woods and near water; cover includes wood, trash piles, barns and stone walls. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal; active late March-early April to October-early November and hibernates in crevices, burrows, hollow logs and stumps; in hot weather may be active at night. [1][2]

Spends about 79% of time under cover; climbs and swims well. [1][2]

Eats mainly other snakes, including venomous species, plus lizards, small turtles, reptile eggs, frogs, birds and small mammals. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

Eastern West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and southern New Jersey south through the southeastern United States to southern Alabama.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    University of Michigan Museum of Zoology