milk snake
noun
: a common, harmless king snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) chiefly of North and Central America that is either ringed with bands of black, red, and yellow or white or is gray or tan with brown, black-bordered blotches and a Y- or V-shaped marking on the back of the neck
… the remarkable similarity between the venomous coral snake and the harmless milk snake, which mimics the coral snake's colors to protect itself. The tricky difference between the two brightly color-banded snakes is summarized by the saying: "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack."—
Robert Hughes
Robert HughesExamples of milk snake in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
According to the Weixin post, snakes native to North America like the Texas rat snake and the milk snake were discovered in the smuggler's trousers.
—Jasmine Baehr, Fox News, 12 July 2024
The Guatemalan milk snake had much smaller hemiclitores, measuring 0.1 inches long and 0.06 inches wide, per the Times.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Dec. 2022
The good-guy snakes include but aren’t limited to the eastern hognose snake, Texas brown snake, Texas rat snake, rough green snake, garter snake, milk snake, bullsnake, kingsnake, indigo snake, black racer, water snake, blind snake and coachwhip.
—Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 8 June 2020
Cheddar Meet Cheddar, a 12-year-old Honduran milk snake.
—cincinnati.com, 3 Dec. 2019
Fortunately, milk snakes are not poisonous, and typically spend much of their time beneath the ground, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society.
—Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 19 June 2019
The couple managed to capture the snake and place it in a trash bag, transfer the reptile to a container, and bring it to an expert, who recognized the animal as a female milk snake.
—Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 19 June 2019
There are beavers, muskrats and brown bats, along with snapping turtles and Easter milk snakes.
—Rich Heileman, cleveland.com, 14 June 2019
It is made by milking snakes for venom and injecting a small amount of it into a domestic animal like a sheep or a horse over several weeks which allows the animal to build antibodies which are filtered and concentrated to become antivenin.
—Henry Robertson, Popular Mechanics, 9 Nov. 2018
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Jasmine Baehr, Fox News, 12 July 2024
The Guatemalan milk snake had much smaller hemiclitores, measuring 0.1 inches long and 0.06 inches wide, per the Times.
—Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Dec. 2022
The good-guy snakes include but aren’t limited to the eastern hognose snake, Texas brown snake, Texas rat snake, rough green snake, garter snake, milk snake, bullsnake, kingsnake, indigo snake, black racer, water snake, blind snake and coachwhip.
—Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 8 June 2020
Cheddar Meet Cheddar, a 12-year-old Honduran milk snake.
—cincinnati.com, 3 Dec. 2019
Fortunately, milk snakes are not poisonous, and typically spend much of their time beneath the ground, according to the Virginia Herpetological Society.
—Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 19 June 2019
The couple managed to capture the snake and place it in a trash bag, transfer the reptile to a container, and bring it to an expert, who recognized the animal as a female milk snake.
—Jason Duaine Hahn, PEOPLE.com, 19 June 2019
There are beavers, muskrats and brown bats, along with snapping turtles and Easter milk snakes.
—Rich Heileman, cleveland.com, 14 June 2019
It is made by milking snakes for venom and injecting a small amount of it into a domestic animal like a sheep or a horse over several weeks which allows the animal to build antibodies which are filtered and concentrated to become antivenin.
—Henry Robertson, Popular Mechanics, 9 Nov. 2018
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Cite this Entry
“Milk snake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/milk%20snake. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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