Small (up to 60 cm TL), slender, brightly banded snake. Back is white, cream, or yellow with large black-bordered red blotches. Head red, with dark crossbar near eyes, and barely broader than neck. Rostral scale enlarged and projects beyond lower jaw. Belly clear white or cream.

Status: Not listed as endangered because existence in Illinois remains uncertain despite isolated records from Indiana and Missouri. Known in Illinois from one specimen collected in 1942 by Fred R. Cagle at Wolf Lake Swamp, Union County, and originally identified as a red milk snake. The specimen subsequently was correctly identified by Philip W. Smith, noted herpetologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey. Searches in the vicinity of Wolf Lake and nearby Pine Hills have yielded no additional specimens.