I cannot refute what you said, but I was having lunch on a crag near the summit of Mt Craig in the Black Mtns a few years back. Three hikers came along and shared the view with me for their lunch. As we talked one of them mentioned that the other guy had actually hike almost half of the AT some years ago. When we struck up some conversation about his hike, he casually said that he and his wife had gotten well into VA. They were going throught some tall grass when his wife felt some bee stings on her calf. She assumed it was bees, as they had seen some bees earlier. The pain got severe and swelling followed. Long story short, they went to an emergency room in Charlottesville, where she was diagnosed with a Copperhead bite. She recovered and decided their hike was over.
The guy seemed pretty credible and seemed to be a knowledgable outdoorsman. Take it for what it is worth.