Milksnakes have black-white-red coloring, grow to a length of 80-130 cm and are widespread from North and Central America to Ecuador. With their distinctive coloring, they resemble the dangerous South American corals of the Micrurus nigrocinctus species, but unlike them, they are not poisonous, they are stranglers and kill their prey by suffocation. By imitating a poisonous coral (so-called Batesian mimicry), they can discourage potential predators. If the coral feels threatened, it moves in quick jerky movements and its flashing stripes are intended to scare off the enemy. It can also exude a foul-smelling secretion from the cloaca.