June and July, usually in an abandoned rodent burrow. One study has shown a natural incubation period of 44 to 58 days. Subspecies There are two subspecies of Masticophis taeniatus which are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies. Masticophis taeniatus girardi Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Masticophis. Etymology The subspecific name, girardi, is in honor of French-American herpetologist Charles Frédéric Girard. References Further reading Baird SF, Girard C (1853). Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part I.—Serpents. Washington, District of Columbia: Smithsonian Institution. xvi + 172 pp. (Masticophis tæniatus, p. 103). Behler, John L.; King, F. Wayne (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 plates. (Masticophis taeniatus, p. 631 + Plate 521). Boulenger GA (1893). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume I., Containing the Families ... Colubridæ Aglyphæ, part. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 448 pp. + Plates I-XXVIII. (Zamenis tæniatus, pp. 390-391). Conant, Roger, Bridges, William (1939). What Snake Is That? A Field Guide to the Snakes of the United States East of the Rocky Mountains. (With 108 drawings by Edmond Malnate). New York and London: D. Appleton-Century Company. Frontispiece map + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (Masticophis taeniatus girardi, pp. 50-51 + Plate 7, Figure 19A). Hallowell E (1852). "Descriptions of new Species of Reptiles inhabiting North America". Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 6: 177-183. ("Leptophis tænita " [printer's error for Leptophis tæniata ], new species, p. 181). Powell R, Conant R, Collins JT (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. xiv + 494 pp., 47 plates, 207 figures. . (Coluber taeniatus, p. 372 + Plate 33). Schmidt, Karl P.; Davis, D. Dwight (1941). Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 365 pp., 34 plates, 103 figures. (Coluber taeniatus, pp. 128-129, Figure 30 + Plate 14). Smith, Hobart M.; Brodie, Edmund D., Jr. (1982). Reptiles of North America: A Guide to Field Identification. New York: Golden Press. 240 pp. (paperback), (hardcover). (Masticophis taeniatus, pp. 192-193). 533 pp. . (Masticophis taeniatus, pp.