>>These are designed so that a predator wont know which end is the head and which is the tail. Northerly forms refer to more cryptic coloration because they have less predators and can more easily forage above ground....See, there is 7 years of Biology in one paragraph.....Grrrr,stupid degree>>

Banded coloration tends to be disruptive. A predator simply cannot recognize the animal as a snake when it is resting.

Striped coloration servies a different purpose. A predator watching a moving snake that is striped will often focus on the stripe. When the snake moves using rectilinear motion, the stripe remains stationary even when the snake moves. Therefore the predator does not detect any motion until it is too late and the snake has disappeared into the underbrush. I know because this is what happened to me when I was watching the dorsal stripe of a garter snake and it disappeared right in front of my eyes.

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