A snake that highway maintenance workers killed near Honolulu Airport was identified today as a juvenile male bullsnake.

The bullsnake, known as Pituophis catenifer sayi, is non-venomous and can grow to about 6 feet, said Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Janelle Saneishi.

She said bullsnakes have been confiscated in Hawaii before, but authorities don’t know how this snake arrived in Hawaii.

Snakes are illegal in the islands because they are a threat to local native species. Bullsnakes, a subspecies of the gopher snake, are usually found in North America and eat small rodents, young rabbits, lizards, birds and bird eggs.

The snake was found about 8:45 a.m. Wednesday by an Island Landscaping road crew cutting grass along Nimitz Highway near Valkenburgh Street. The workers killed the snake with a weed whacker. State officials recovered the snake’s remains.

The punishment for possessing or transporting a snake is a fine of up to $200,000, imprisonment of up to three years, and payment for the costs related to the capture and eradication of the pest.