[5] R. septemvittata ranges through the temperate region of North America east of the Mississippi River from western New York state to Wisconsin and south to Alabama and northern Florida.

[6] Decreases in queen snake populations can be most attributed to a loss of food sources through stream channelization, bank erosion, and water pollution.

The queen snake is olive to gray or dark brown in overall coloration, with peach or yellow stripes that run down its length at the first scale row.

Queen snakes are not large, and they seldom grow to more than 24 inches (61 cm) in total length (including tail).

If mating was in the autumn, the female can delay giving birth until spring, storing the energy she will need through the months that she will be in a period of brumation.

This snake is ovoviviparous, the female giving birth to live young after carrying the eggs within her body.

[8] Other sources of food include frogs, tadpoles, newts, salamanders, minnows, snails, and fairy shrimp.

The queen snake does not find its food by sight or heat detection, but by smell, using its tongue to carry the scent of its prey to receptors within its mouth.

The queen snake is in a period of brumation throughout the winter months, and groups of them can be found in "hibernacula", near water.

These hibernation dens can be inside old bridge abutments, cracked concrete retaining walls and dams, and in niches of bedrock.

When approached by predators, queen snakes will flee a distance directly related to their internal temperature.

[12] The main threat to the queen snake is habitat loss as waterways are drained, disturbed or polluted.

R. septemvittata are especially sensitive to a chemical compound called ecdysone that is produced by crayfish during their molting cycle which help them find that prey easier.