How do fence lizards mate

They are gray, brown, or tan with a series of dar, wavy crossbands on the back. Adult males have bright blue patches on their sides and bellies during the breeding season see picture above. They are very fast and difficult to catch. It takes patience and lightning-fast reflexes to catch one -- or a large rubber band. We're on the ground in seven regions across the country, collaborating with 52 state and territory affiliates to reverse the crisis and ensure wildlife thrive. Uniting all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world.

Inspire a lifelong connection with wildlife and wild places through our children's publications, products, and activities. In 4 seconds , you will be redirected to nwfactionfund. The National Wildlife Federation. Eastern Fence Lizard. Classification: Reptile. Description Fence lizards are spiny lizards, meaning they have rough, pointed scales on their backs.

Diet Fence lizards usually forage twice a day. Behavior To claim territory, male fence lizards will flash the blue scales on their underbelly. Life History Male and female fence lizards mate from April to August, then quickly go their separate ways.

Conservation Fence lizards are relatively common and their populations are stable. Females tend to eat more insects during the spring months, in order to save energy for egg-laying.

Lizards generally forage twice daily. Behler, ; Johnson, Males with larger blue patches are more likely to be preyed on by birds. As a result, males have a high mortality rate during early spring when they are establishing mating territories. Females have a higher mortality rate during the period of egg-laying, because they are protecting their territory, making them more susceptible to predators. Larger lizard species, snakes, and domestic cats and dogs also eat eastern fence lizards.

Eastern fence lizards are slower than other lizards, often giving predators. Eastern fence lizards are cryptically colored and can move quite rapidly when they are warm. Eastern fence lizards mainly feed on insects and are themselves prey for birds and other larger predators.

They compete with other lizard species for their insect prey. Common parasites include chiggers and botflies. Eastern fence lizards are used to help educate people about conservation and reptiles. Eastern fence lizards decrease insect and arachnid populations, which can be pest species in some areas. Eastern fence lizards are not pests and do not have a negative effect on the human population.

If individual lizards are harassed, they may bite. Angilletta, Eastern fence lizards are thriving due to the availability edge habitats and secondary growth around pine forests, their preferred habitat.

Flooding can have a disastrous effect on eastern fence lizard hatchling populations. Behler, ; Pinch and Claussen, This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico. Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons or periodic condition changes.

A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.

A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome. Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available.

Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands. The University of Chicago. Hormones, Brain, and Behavior. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College. Lizard Ecology. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Adolph, S. This bright coloration is faint or absent in both females and juveniles. The scales of S.

Many other lizards have similar bright-blue coloring. The eastern fence lizard , S. The sagebrush lizard , S. However, the axilla of U. Studies have shown Lyme disease is lower in areas where the lizards occur. When ticks carrying Lyme disease feed on these lizards' blood which they commonly do, especially around their ears , a protein in their blood kills the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. The blood inside the ticks' gut is therefore cleansed and no longer carries Lyme disease.