The venomous snake you will actually meet in Dearborn County. Chestnut hourglasses on a copper body.

A heavy-bodied pit viper. Pattern is dark-brown hourglasses or Hershey-kiss bands that are wide on the sides and narrow on the back. Head is unmarked copper. Young have a yellow tail tip. Heat pits between eye and nostril. Pupils vertical in bright light.

Habitat

Rock piles, woodpiles, south slopes, collapsing foundations, leaf litter. They do not chase people.

Season

April–October. Night hunting in heat.

Size

24–36 in

Field marks

Hourglass bands; copper head; no rattle

Bites are painful and medically serious but rarely fatal for healthy adults. They almost always happen when someone grabs, steps on, or kills the snake.