egg to break it open. The smallest reptile eggs are eaten in their entirety. Reproduction There is very little known about the reproductive habits of the scarlet snake. It is oviparous, generally laying 2-9 eggs per clutch, with the typical clutch yielding five eggs. Breeding occurs throughout the spring months, and eggs are laid throughout the summer in burrows or under rocks. The eggs hatch two months after breeding, typically in the late summer or autumn. Predators and defense The natural predators of the scarlet snake are snake-eating snakes such as the coral snake, and predatory birds and mammals. Scarlet snakes rarely bite when picked up by humans, although they can release a foul-smelling odor. Conservation The two greatest threats that scarlet snakes face are the destruction of their habitats because of commercial development and the rising rate of road mortality. Other threats are illegal capture of the species for the pet trade and intentional killing. Subspecies The following two subspecies are recognized as being valid. Cemophora coccinea coccinea – Florida scarlet snake Cemophora coccinea copei – northern scarlet snake Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Cemophora. References Further reading Behler JL, King FW (1979). The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp. . (Cemophora coccinea, pp. 592–593 + Plates 595, 596, 607). Blumenbach JF (1788). "Einige Naturhistorische Bemerkungen bey Gelegenheit einer Schweizer-Reise". Magazin für das Neueste aus der Physik und Naturgeschichte 5''': 13–24. (Coluber coccineus, new species, p. 11). (in German and Latin). Conant R (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. The Peterson Field Guide Series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. xviii + 429 pp. + Plates 1-48. (hardcover); (paperback). (Cemophora coccinea, pp. 211–212 + Plates 30, 31 + Map 152). Conant R, Bridges W (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. Frontispiece map + viii + 163 pp. + Plates A-C, 1-32. (Cemophora coccinea, pp. 85–86 + Plate 26, Figure 78). 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 +