But since a coral snake's bite invariably leads to death, there is no lesson to be learned, someone finally realized. This rule of thumb holds true for both U.S. species of coral snake, the eastern and the Arizona or Sonoran. It doesn't always apply to similar snakes south of the U.S. border, however. And in the Arizona coral's Southwestern range, the harmless shovel-nose snake can also have adjacent red and yellow bands. To be safe, avoid them all.
Coral snakes live mostly underground or beneath natural objects.
Though furtive and rare, they possess venom more toxic than that of any other North American snake. Look before you reach under a rock or log. Click here to find out how. Copyright Rodale, Inc. 2001.