As Jake and I started southward towards Okeechobee County, Florida, the conditions seemed perfect. A low pressure system with scattered thunderstorms was forecast at our destination for the evening hours, forecast temperatures seemed ideal, and almost exactly a year earlier Josh had found our target snake, a South Florida mole kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata.



Seemingly uncommon, the South Florida mole kingsnake was described in 1987. This grayish, yard long, largely fossorial constrictor bears 60-80 well defined dorsal blotches as well as smaller lateral blotches between each of the dorsal markings.
The belly, also bearing dark blotches is cream colored.

A prominent dark diagonal bar extends from each eye to the angle of the mouth and two elongate dark blotches are present on the nape.

Jake and I were stoked. Except for a slight breeze, even as we left the turnpike the conditions seemed ideal. Storm clouds amply decorated with lightning continued to build a bit to the west. When we turned westward, the storms seemed more distant than earlier, the gentle breezes had become gusty winds, and the high humidity had become almost desert dryness.

What had earlier been ideal mole king weather now seemed more appropriate for desert kings. And it stayed that way for the 2 days we had allocated. The mole kings failed to become surface active. We failed again!

Well, maybe next time.