Black with yellowish specks (usually one per scale). Belly with black and yellowish checkerboard pattern. Juveniles with more chainlike pattern. 
Arkansas Herpetological Atlas 2019
This species is represented by 799 records from 43 sources: 570 museum (
), 0 literature (
), 0 research (
), and 186 observation (
), with 43 additional Trauth et al. (2004) locality points remaining unsourced (
). It has been museum vouchered for all counties (). Years of collection range from 1855 to present.
This species occurs statewide. Lampropeltis nigra (■), a species of the complex that ranges mostly east of the Mississippi River, has multiple records from the Missouri Bootheel (Daniel and Edmond, 2020), suggesting potential occurrence in northeast Arkansas. No confirmation by genetic analysis has been established for Arkansas, however.
