Eastern populations of Malpolon formerly allocated to M. monspessulanus are now included within M. insignatus following Carranza et al. (2006).

European regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 regional assessment: Least Concern (LC)

The species is widespread across southwestern Europe. It is assessed as Least Concern for Europe and for the EU27 Member States in view of its wide distribution, tolerance of a degree of habitat modification, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a threatened category.

In Europe, this species ranges widely in Portugal, Spain (where it is generally absent from the Cantabrian Mountains, being known only from one site on the northern slope, but otherwise occurs countrywide), continuously in southeastern France, and northwestern Italy (Liguria and the southwestern Piedmont) (Pleguezuelos et al. 2021). It may have the widest continuous distribution of any colubroid snake in the Iberian Peninsula, and arid areas and lagoons from which no records exist probably represent undersampling in poorly-surveyed habitats rather than true absence (Pleguezuelos et al. 2021). It is found in the Spanish North African territories of Ceuta and Melilla (Carranza et al. 2006). It has been introduced to Ibiza, Mallorca and Formentera (Speybroeck et al. 2016), but an established population exists only on Mallorca (J.M. Pleguezuelos pers. comm. 2023). It ranges from sea level, reaching as high as 2,406 m asl in the Baetic Mountains of southern Spain (Speybroeck et al. 2016, Geniez 2018).

Outside Europe, this species is widespread in northwest North Africa, where it is found in northern Algeria (with an eastern range limit in Algiers; Speybroeck et al. 2016), Morocco and coastal areas of Western Sahara, south as far as Dakhla (Geniez 2018).

It is generally a common species. In the Iberian Peninsula, it is probably the most abundant terrestrial snake (Pleguezuelos 2021). In human-altered landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula, subpopulations are frequently stable or even increasing (J.M. Pleguezuelos pers. comm. 2008, Santos et al. 2022). It can be common in cereal fields where these are close to gallery vegetation or holm oak groves in which they can shelter (Pleguezuelos 2021). It is very common in irrigated cropland in southern Iberia where small mammals occur in high densities and can be more common here than in natural habitats (Pleguezuelos 2021). A decline has been reported in the south of France, apparently driven by changes to agricultural practices that have facilitated colonization by a competing snake species (Sirami et al. 2010). A study modelling population trends based on citizen science data collected between 1980 and 2017 (Spain) and 1980 and 2018 (Languedoc, France) supports this, as these authors found that the population had declined by 38.5% in southern France over this period, corresponding to a decline of 14.8% over a presumed three-generation period of 15 years (Santos et al. 2022). Conversely, it was the only species in this study to exhibit an increasing population trend in Spain, increasing by nearly 50% over the study period. Based on the results of 210 transects conducted across France (with a bias towards the west) over at least three years within the timeframe 2015-2022, this species has a decreasing population trend in this country (Trochet et al. 2023): transect occupancy probability decreased from approximately 12% in 2015 to 6-7% in 2022.

This species is characteristic of Mediterranean habitats: Geniez (2018) describes it as "the ultimate Mediterranean snake". It is found on sun-exposed sites in depressions or hillsides, in areas with bushes or Mediterranean scrub, in open woodland (including Holm Aak and, at high elevations on the Iberian Peninsula, pine-oak forest; Speybroeck et al. 2016, Geniez 2018), saltmarshes, coastal sand dunes, and overgrown areas of gardens, including those well within urban areas (Speybroeck et al. 2016), cultivated land (the latter including cereal crops, vineyards and orchards; Pleguezuelos 2021) and quarries (Speybroeck et al. 2016, Geniez 2018). It is generally found in well-vegetated areas, but occurs in sand dunes and saltmarshes in parts of the southern Iberian Peninsula with a low human presence (Pleguezuelos 2021). In anthropogenic areas, by contrast, it favours areas with high grass cover, and is typically found in ecotonal areas between cultivated land and remnant natural vegetation used as shelter sites (Pleguezuelos 2021).

The annual activity period seems to be expanding in parallel with the raise of mean annual temperatures, providing one of the first reports of a "definite phenological shift" for a reptile as a direct response to increasing temperature (Moreno-Rueda et al. 2009). The female lays a clutch of 3-15 eggs (mean 6.7 in Spain and 8.1 in France based on sources compiled by Santos et al. 2022, with each female reproducing, on average, in 75% of years) which hatch in late August or early September (Geniez 2018). It has an assumed generation length of 5 years (Santos et al. 2022), inferred by these authors to be a year later than age at maturity.

There are overall no major threats to this species. It has benefitted from land use change in at least part of its range, as it favours open habitats and has adapted to take advantage of high prey mammal densities in agricultural and urban areas (Pleguezuelos 2021). Many animals are killed on roads or are persecuted by farmers. Between 1982 and 2004 its activity period was highest in warmer years and it became an increasingly dominant member of the snake community (from 27 to 52% of the snake fauna) (Segura et al. 2007), and Pleguezuelos (2021) proposes that it is likely to benefit from climate change at least in the Iberian Peninsula. More than half its European range is within an area exposed to regular pesticide use which may be a risk factor (Mingo et al. 2016), but the impacts of chemical pollutants on the species are unknown. In southern France, the abandonment of traditional agriculture and subsequent colonisation by the Western Whip Snake appears to have resulted in local declines (Sirami et al. 2010). It is subject to targeted persecution as vermin in some areas, although conversely some farmers deliberately release the snakes as pest control agents (Pleguezuelos 2021). Pleguezuelos et al. (2018) hypothesise that snake hunters in Morocco may have a negative impact on population fitness, as they harvest large animals that are otherwise immune to predation and consequently may lead to selection for smaller individuals.

This species is, quite occasionally, included in traditional medicine in Granada, Salamanca and Portugal (described in detail by Pleguezuelos 2021). There is small-scale collection in Iberia for the European pet trade (Pleguezuelos 2021). It is quite commonly used by snake charmers in Morocco (Pleguezuelos et al. 2018).

This species is listed on Annex III of the Bern Convention. It occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range. No particular conservation measures are needed, but the snake readily colonizes restored habitats where artificial shelters are provided (Márquez-Ferrando et al. 2009). Population monitoring is recommended in areas where declines have been recorded.