NOTE TO SELF: find lighter background when shooting all-black snakes. This Mexican Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis nigrita) was produced by Terri Bienkowski. I bred this species back in the 1970s and 1980s, but many of them back then were heavily freckled, and often dark brown instead of black. Today, such non-black MBKs are rare. Even softening the lights for this pic could not hinder the reflection on this PATTON–LEATHER–like serpent.