The harmless broad-banded water snake is a beautiful snake, with broad bands of olive, black, dark brown, and reddish brown patches separated by yellowish interstices. Those colors practically scream “copperhead” to the uninitiated, and even give many, if not most experienced herpers a start for a second or two when they happen upon one in the wild. It seems likely that this similarity is another example of Batesian mimicry (Wickler, 1968) that benefits the water snake by causing it to be mistaken for a copperhead, and thus to be given a wider berth — sparing its life — than would otherwise be the case. [...]