A rattlesnake hides in this Arizona garden photo. Would you spot it in time?

Arizona’s intense heatwave has rattlesnakes scrambling for shade, and a photo is proving how well the stealthy serpents can blend into the scenery.

The image was posted Sunday on the Arizona Snake Identification and Questions Facebook page, and it shows a garden of desert plants, cactus and rocks.

A western diamondback rattlesnake is also hiding in the photo, as noted Bryan Hughes, who administers the 13,000-member Facebook group.

“See it?” Hughes asked.

He offered clues, but it was still tough for some viewers to quickly spot the venomous pit viper.

“I’m afraid I might be bit. It took me way (too) long to find it,” Lisa Barksdale wrote.

“Great camouflage!” Jim Bussey said.

“Thank you for the continued sight training. It’s saved me more than you know,” Stacy Osegueda posted.

So where is the snake?

Dead center, coiled up in the shade of an agave plant, Hughes pointed out.

“That’s my fear while pruning. Ugh!” one viewer responded.

The photo was taken by Hughes’ company, Rattlesnake Solutions, an Arizona-based snake removal operation that deals largely in venomous reptiles. It captures the snakes and moves them unharmed to wilderness areas.

His post comes at a time when Arizona is seeing a wave of triple-digit temperatures, which can be deadly to rattlesnakes. Rattlesnakes are shunning daytime activities, and entering a type of summer hibernation known as aestivation, he told McClatchy News.

Homeowners who spot rattlesnakes out during the day will likely discover more are hiding in a den on their property, he added.

Western diamondbacks grow to an average of 5 feet long in Arizona, though some in the 7-foot range have been found, according to Desertmuseum.org.

“Diamondbacks will often spend the hot daytime hours coiled in the shade of low-growing shrubs, piles of natural or artificial debris, or rocks,” the museum reports.

This story was originally published July 13, 2021 at 8:38 AM with the headline "A rattlesnake hides in this Arizona garden photo. Would you spot it in time?."