An Abundance of Green Anole Lizards Both Young and Old
My Nature Journal Summary
| Date | August 25, 2022 |
| Time | 1:00PM EDT |
| Temperature | 87ยฐF / 31ยฐC |
| Weather | More clouds than sun |
| Wind | None |
| Humidity | 50% |
| Habitat | Nature trail through mixed oak and hardwood forest, tree line next to a meadow. |
| Animals Encountered | Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) |
My Nature Journal Photos
Green Anoles Anolis carolinensis
Today’s nature walk was hot and humid but returned huge benefits. As I hiked down the trail, I scanned the vegetation along the tree line in the hopes of seeing some creatures.
Suddenly a spotted a suspicious looking shape along a plant stem. I peered closer and, to my amazement, discovered a tiny Green Anole stretched out along the plant stem. It must have been an extremely young lizard, possibly just hatched, because its body was scarcely longer than my little finger (although its tail was much longer).
More amazingly, the moment I pulled my eyes away from this little guy, I spotted additional Green Anoles everywhere I looked. I’ve never seen so many anoles in one place before! I counted twelve of them in one bush. All appeared to be very young- or at least, they were very small compared to the adults I usually see- and all blended into the bright green vegetation beautifully.
The bright green color of these juvenile anoles serves two purposes. First, it camouflages them from being seen by predators. Second, it camouflages them from being seen by their own insect and spider prey as the anoles hunt.
Most of the time, Green Anoles are exactly that- green. But Green Anoles have a special trick that no other lizard species in my area share. They can change color.
In cool, damp conditions, or when they rest against dark backgrounds like tree bark or leaf litter, Green Anoles turn dark brown. Both males and females share this ability.
But during breeding season, males stay bright green most of the time. They position themselves out in the open and expand the pink dewlaps under their chins in visual displays designed to attract females. Like in birds, female Green Anoles are less flashy than males. They rely on the males’ bravery in making themselves visible to find and choose mates.
These two adult Green Anoles circled each other on this tree trunk for about fifteen minutes. You can really see how much more visible- and thus vulnerable- the green male is compared to the brown female. The female blends into the tree bark beautifully. In fact, it took me a minute to realize she was there.
But the bright green male stood out against the bark from a mile away. Love may be blind in humans, but in Green Anoles, it comes in shades of bright green and dark brown.
