Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is this a common pattern and color for a garter found in Northeastern PA??

In the Pittsburgh area, we have two common Pattern/colors. One I call black is solid black between pale grey-white to yellow stripes. One I call olive is gray-olive or brown-olive with a darker checkerboard pattern between pale yellow stripes. In my experience, one location will have one pattern, while another nearby will have the other pattern. Some olives are darker than others, and I suspect that there are individuals in a continuous spectrum intermediate to the two that I encounter. Maybe its chance, but I have found the olives to be slower-growing and less robust than the blacks.