The blue racer has been on Ontario's Endangered Species List since 1971. It is listed as a species of special concern in the state of Wisconsin. The snake has not yet been assessed for the IUCN Red List in terms of conservation, but is listed as endangered in Canada by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Intra- and interspecific (with the eastern fox snake) communal nest sites have been documented and appear to be relatively common. The most common nesting microhabitats used by female blue racers are fallen decaying logs however, eggs are also laid under large rocks and in mounds of decaying organic matter. Females oviposit in late June and eggs hatch from mid-August to late-September. Mating begins in April and continues throughout May.
#COLUBER CONSTRICTOR FOXII SNAKES OF MICHIGAN FULL#
Males can mature physiologically at 11 months, but do not have the opportunity to mate until their second full year similarly, females may mature at 24 months but are not able to reproduce until the following year. Females can reproduce annually, but biennial cycles are likely more common. The blue racer is oviparous and the average clutch size for seven females is 14.7 ± 2.53. The eggs and young are likely vulnerable to a wider variety of avian and mammalian predators. Dogs and feral house cats are known to kill and/or harass juvenile blue racers. Probable natural predators of adult blue racers include the larger birds of prey (e.g., red-tailed hawk, northern harrier, great horned owl) and carnivorous mammals such as raccoons, foxes and coyotes.
Adults engage in both terrestrial and arboreal foraging. The younger snakes may consume crickets and other insects, whereas adults feed primarily on rodents, songbirds and other snakes. Campbell and Perrin also noted that racers were among the first snakes to disappear from suburban areas. Therefore, blue racers are more confined to areas with minimal anthropogenic activity. In contrast to blue racers, eastern fox snakes were often found under front porches, in barns/garages, and in the foundations of houses whereas, most (but not all) blue racers were observed in more "natural" settings. (although studies were not conducted concurrently). Behavior/Adaptability īlue racers seem to be relatively intolerant of high levels of human activity and for most of the active season, they remain in areas of low human density.Įvidence to suggest this comes largely from radio telemetry data from both blue racers and eastern fox snakes that inhabited the same general areas on Pelee Island flaviventris (the eastern yellow-bellied racer), most recent authorities agree that the subspecies C.c. Although there has been some controversy regarding the designation of C.c. The largest documented specimen captured on Pelee Island was 138 cm SVL. The blue racer is one of Ontario's largest snakes, reaching 90 cm to 152 cm snout-to-vent length (SVL). Unlike adults, hatchlings and yearlings (first full active season) have dorsal blotches that fade completely by the third year however, juvenile patterning is still visible on the venter until late in the snake's third season. They also have characteristic black masks, relatively large eyes, and often have brownish-orange rostral scales (snouts). On Pelee Island in Ontario, the blue racer is restricted to the eastern two-thirds of the island.īlue racers often have creamy white ventral scales, dull grey to brilliant blue lateral scales, and pale brown to dark grey dorsum. The last reliable record of the blue racer on mainland Canada was in Ontario in 1983. In the United States: Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, South Dakota, and Iowa are now the only states with extant populations of blue racer.
A mosaic of these habitats is likely required to fulfill the ecological needs of C. Coluber constrictor foxii, commonly known as the blue racer, is a subspecies of Coluber constrictor, a species of nonvenomous, colubrid snake commonly referred to as the eastern racer.īlue racers prefer open and semi-open habitats, savanna, old field shoreline, and edge habitats.
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