“Nature is an infinite sphere of which the center is everywhere and the circumference nowhere.” – Blaise Pascal
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Spring is one of the best times of year to observe the antics of Western Fence Lizards, or bluebellies.
These interesting reptiles like to stake a claim on their territory and vie for a mate in a most macho fashion.
The males will circle one another, and set about performing reps of studly push-ups before they tackle and wrestle one another. The winner gets the female.
I contacted reptile expert, Gary, at the www.CaliforniaHerps.com Web site to inquire about the lizards in photos I took for this article.
Gary replied, "This is my favorite time of year because people send me pictures like yours. The lizards are Northwestern Fence Lizards and the reason they look so blue is because they are both males and they are having a territorial dispute. It's mating season and males show off their bright colors and extend their blue throats to intimidate each other. When that doesn't work, they chase and bite each other until one runs off. It's stressful for the lizards but I have enjoyed watching the combat because the lizards are so pre-occupied that they ignore the threat of a large human trying to take pictures of them."
The Western Fence Lizard appears out of hibernation during late winter or early spring, and likes to sun himself, usually on a nearby stone, or, as its name implies- on a fence.
They are cold-blooded creatures, and come in a variety of colors: gray, tan, brown or black. These scaly critters grow to a length of more than 8 inches.
Western Fence Lizards are diurnal, or active during the daylight hours. Western Fence lizards breed after their second year, producing clutches of three to 17 eggs during the months of April to July. The baby lizards use an egg tooth to break free from their eggs.
Western Fence Lizards have been know to live three to five years. They instinctively and quickly scurry away from predators like birds and snakes, and can drop their tails if threatened, as a decoy to then allow for a hasty retreat. If the unlucky lizard is attacked, its tail flops about, drawing attention away from the lizard.
Lizards reserve the tail-drop routine strictly as a last resort, as re-growing a tail uses valuable stores of energy.
Lizards are beneficial in that they eat large quantities of bugs, ants, flies and spiders.
Scientists have learned that where lizards live, Lyme disease is lower. It has been proven that there is a protein in lizard blood that kills the Lyme disease bacterium, and renders the ticks safe from carrying Lyme disease.
Love those lizards!
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is an educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.