The Queen snake or Queensnake (Regina septemvittata) is a non-venomous semi-aquatic snake species, compared to North America. Their range extends from New York state across the United States, east of the Mississippi River east west to Wisconsin and south throughout the Carolinas into Florida and Alabama.
They are considered to be extirpated from New Jersey, that has been in the border of its scope. The species is located in Canada from the area of Ontario. Additionally, there are other disjunct populations in Missouri and Arkansas and around Bois Blanc Island in Lake Huron.
Where does the Queen Snakes live?
Queen snakes really are a semi-aquatic species and therefore are often located in or close to water, in almost any location with plentiful crayfish, their favorite prey. Their habitats consist of rivers and streams with sand or rocky bottoms along with plenty of places to conceal.
But this kind of snakes can be also found in several other aquatic habitats like ponds or lakes, ditches, canals, as well as in marshes. As it has to be 50 °F throughout their months that are busy the water temperature has a significant function in their own habitat preferences.
The queen snake is still a parasitic species, which means it is most busy during the day, but during warm weather, they might also go around during the night. They might be observed basking in the sunlight on logs or stones along the border of the water, or even dangling shrubs or tree branches over the water, where they’ll immediately fall if upset. They are generally seen basking along with northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon).
How Big Do queen snakes get?
All these colubrid snakes possess a slightly slender body and quantify by 13 to 36 inches (34 to 92 cm) in total length with a mean size of 24 inches (61 cm). Females are larger than the men, but men have tails that are longer than many of the guys.
Queen snake dorsal coloration is generally olive oil, brown or perhaps grayish, with a whitish or yellow ring running on every side of your system around the labial scales. Even though their belly is yellow or cream in color, with 4 brown stripes converging towards the tail and running the length of their stomach.
Occasionally they’ll have 3 or less excruciating darker stripes running the length of the human body, more observable in juvenile and young snakes since these stripes have a tendency to fade off as they grow.
Their look is quite like that of garter snakes (genus Thamnophis), like the Eastern Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) and frequently confused together. But unlike the garter snakes that are, the queen snake lacks the colored dorsal stripe and includes a divided plate.
Their scales are keeled using 19 dorsal rows in the mid-body and feel rough to the touchscreen. While their palms are covered with scales They have a head coated with 9 climbs. Unlike snakes that the Queen snake has rounded students.
In the northern portion of the scope, the queen’s snake can go into brumation throughout the wintertime. They will brumate in classes, occasionally with amphibians, snakes as well as their prey.
Their hibernation dens are almost always near the water at an acceptable website, like the burrows mammals or crayfish, dams, older bridge abutments, cracks in bedrock or cracks in walls. Brumation is a type of hibernation that the snakes become lethargic.
So much to their principal victim, crayfishes, could become a predator into them and begin eating youthful queen bees in this age. Herons and hawks, raccoons, mink, otters, and snakes also prey on snakes are. Fish and cows may also eat snakes.
Their life span in the wild is unknown, however, one man specimen was proven to survive up to 19 decades. Contrary to much more competitive snake species, even Queen snakes are extremely docile, and perhaps not likely to biting they’ll bite if hardened and may even smear their predator using a parasite that is senile if caught.
These snakes have been known by a number of other common names like brownish queen snake, olive oil snake, rat snake, North American seven-banded snake, light snake, a queen water snake, a hot water snake, a 2seven-striped water snake, a three-striped water snake, yellow-bellied snake along with willow snake.
Queen snakes can also be referred to as banded water snake or even diamondback water snake however they are not linked to the “actual” banded water snake (Nerodia fasciata) or even the diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer).
What does the queen snake eat?
Even the Queen snake feeds mostly on freshwater crayfish, research suggest that crayfish constitute over 90 percent of the diet. But unlike their loved ones, the crayfish snakes they like to consume molted crayfish, preventing the crayfish.
Doing these snakes prevent eating the tough exoskeleton and the crayfish can also be largely defenseless and unable to strike and damage them along with their pincers. Queen snakes may take food resources like minnows, tadpoles, fish, newts, frogs, snails, and shrimps.
The Queen snake knowingly hunts for prey by swimming and searching under stones or other submerged debris. Rather than or sight heat discovery such as this of pit vipers, these snakes use their awareness of chemosensation to locate prey.
They utilize their own forked tongue to take the victim’s odor to receptors found within the snake’s mouth that this lets them locate its prey underwater.
Queen Snakes Reproduction
The queen bees are a solitary creature, just coming together throughout the breeding period normally happens from the spring, generally during May. But mating can take place until spring, females may postpone the arrival in this scenario, keeping energy through brumation throughout summer months.
Ladies will invest quite a great deal of power to provide the eggs together with the nutrients that they want through the 90 to 120 days past period. Males find using their tongues to feel chemical cues made by females, females locate prey.
If they locate a female prepared to partner the copulation occurs. Contrary to queen spider females take eggs and give birth to live young.
Girls give birth to 31 infant snakes however on average approximately 10 to 12 young snakes are generally from August to September. The snakes, therefore, are capable of going around and also to swim and have to fend for themselves only since no attention is provided by females.
At birth, the toddlers are roughly 6 inches (15 cm) long and weigh approximately 0.1 oz (2.8 gram ), however, they’ll grow very fast and might lose their skin twice through the initial week of the lifetimes. In this period they’ll reside on the nutrient yolk shops they maintain.
Throughout their first period of existence, their span increases by up to 50 percent to 80%, and the growth rate drops substantially. Both females and males reach sexual maturity over two decades of age females will strain for the very first time when they’re old.
Queen Snakes Conservation
The Queen snake is recorded as”Least Concern species” from the IUCN and does not have any particular standing in CITES. Their population is deemed stable during the majority of their variety surpassing 100,000 people.
They’re located just where crayfish can also be abundant and present, generally in mild or rapid flowing streams so each danger to the crayfish may even influence these snakes
Queen Snakes Taxonomy
There are not any subspecies currently known for its Queen snake with scientists.
Their first Genus title, Regina comes from the Latin term”regius” significance”queen”. Though the species name, “Septem vittata” derives from two Latin words, Septem significance”seven” and also vitta meaning”stripe”.
That is really a reference to the amount of dark and light stripes located on a lot of people of the species. Young snakes possess a total of visible stripes, 3 to the trunk and 4 in their stomach, which are inclined to fade as they rise.
