I have lots of htese lovely critters in my garden but have no idea what they are.
Some are green with a red throat, some are black with a bright blue tail, some are brown. Are they lizards???
thank you.
green lizards???
They are fun little guys to have around. The green ones are the same as the brown ones--they can change color, though only the brown-yellowish-green range. They are Green Anoles. The males have the red throat "dewlap", which they extend during courting and as a territorial display. The blue-tailed ones are easy: Blue-tailed Skinks. I don't know very much about them, but we sure have a lot of them. Since they eat insects, I figure both kinds are my friends. Sheila
They are Anoles, great little creatures..
Larkie
http://www.corkscrew.audubon.org/Wildlife/Lizards.html
This message was edited Sep 10, 2006 3:38 PM
thank you Soupcon and Larkie.
I just love them.
Spider07
I love the little lizards, too! Skinks are shinier than lizards and move differently, a kind of serpentine motion. They are wonderful in your garden but be careful, from what I hear they are have a neurotoxin that can affect animals who catch and eat them. My cat has caught several but luckily each time he brought me the prize instead of eating it. (He just loves to show off)
The other reptile garden friends you might encounter who are very good for your yard are black racers (grey-black with a small head, don't panic, they are shy and eat palmetto bugs!!!) and ringneck snakes (the size of an earthworm, very shy and sweet tempered, grey or black with a little pink or orange necklace, sometimes hide under pots that have been there a while
My latest suprise is tree frogs- the ones that sound like little birds trilling- I pulled apart some empty post to have my husband fill and must have encounterd 5 or six in the process. I guess the pots were like little condos for them!
Heeeey! Arent they sweet? I just love mine too! I even catch a couple when they are really little to put in the house for my house plants!! No mites or aphids ever get started in my housplants! The biggest boon is that they are an all natural pest control, We have had no Palmetto bugs(Cockroaches) or ants since we introduced them inside! Oh they dont come out to bother any one! They like to watch people though! Some times I think they think we are pretty funny animals!
I wish I could bring some anti-palmetto critters in but since the great striped hunter would probably get them I don't dare.
Of course he's getting lazier, so maybe there is hope yet!