Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-07-10
THE STUDY OF LIZARDS
STRANGE CONTRADICTIONS IN
HABITS OF ANIMALS
Insects and Reptiles Enter Every
O3uI sAnoH xnoa-xausAAL
state. of Information.

The stroller IN southern California ia
miliar with the eastern forms OF life
is continually meeting with strange CON-
tradictions in the habits Of animals and
plants, says Pasadena correspondent Of
the New York Evening Post. Where
there Is so much yerdure Of a semi
tropical nature one would expect warm
nights, but the reverse Is true The
nights on the Pacific coast are extremely
cool when contrasted with the day. and
have singular effect upon animal life.
The birds seek the hedges, thick trees
and bushes at night, while the insects
and reptiles enter every "a hours an al
most complete state of Information, or,
more properly. state of coma.
Near my point of vantage IL pile of
stones heaped up for some purpose, now
the castle of many lizards. One, a big
black fellow with bronze-violet breast
has had special attraction for me-
Whenever / approach he seems to rec
ogr1ize me, lifting up his head quickly
SO that the sun strikes the bronzed and
beautifully tinted breastplate, fairly daz-
cling my eyes. and I wonder IL he thus
hypnotizes the flies and other insects he
preys upon.
. My little lizard Is sociable, and after
rapidly raising his head, nodding at me
in a confidential way, he dozes off to
sleep in the hot sun. have noticed that
he is almost the exact color of the rock
upon which he is flattened out. and when
dislodge him and he moves sideways
to another stone. he soon adapts himself
to the prevailing tint. At midday he Is
bright and active, darting about here
and there; but never was a barometer
more sensitive. Does a cloud cover the
sun for half an hour, he becomes NOR
bid, his legs extend out stiff1y, his eyes
i aIn ht1f xxyha ha SIR hra oIrc
the clouds he becomes active and vigil
liant again.
Wishing to learn how the lizard passed
the night, / visited the castle early one
morning. The sun was still behind the
Sierras There had been a light frost;
the rocks were delicately whitened, AMI
the sharp points of the alfileria bore
drops of dew. My lizard was not an early,
riser, and perhaps 1t was wen he was not
as few moments before l had passed
bright-eyed road-runner carefully 60
Ing over the road In hunt for this
game.
1t did not show good fellowship to
pull the castle down about the. ears of
the sleepers, but took up one stone af-
ter another until finally rolled away
a big one at the bottom, to find in a snug
little excavation not only my friend of
the bronzed breastplate, but several
other lizards. lying stretched out with
llpS OF GnelT Toes Toward the Ldlt, T1Blu
and stiff. l handled them freely, but
they were sound asleep, and only recov-
cred gradually when submitted to the
heat of my hand.
After ten minutes my lizard slowly
opened his eyes, which looked dry and
dull. 1t was the awakening of mummy
of night. But soon he began to in
crease his respiration, the cavities and
wrinkles in his skin filled out as IL by
magic, and suddenly he raised his head,
and as the CLEAN OF the sun that was
rolling up over the range caught his
breastplate he sprang from my hand to
my sleeve, and then to the rocks, from
which he eyed me with suspicion, bob
bling his head up and down.
At o'clock each day, or when the sun
began to drop the lizard began to lose
his animation; his breathing grew
shorter, and soon the most delicate In
strument would hardly have noted the
circulation of his blood; his temperature
had dropped, the body had shrunk and
was rigid and cold. II the following day
was cold the lizard did not revive. but
slept on, as do his cousins In the east.
who remain for months buried in the
ground; but in California the summer
comes each day; the sunbeams penetrate
the little fortress and the lizards are
warmed into life.
One day there. was sudden commo-
ton in the castle. A newcomer was
chasing my friend, and soon had seized
him by the tip of the tail. Then the un-
expected happened; the victim scrambled
away, leaving the pursuer holding the
tail in his mouth, which vibrated and
swung about as though possessed of
life and vitality of its own. The ruse
was successful, and the enemy's atten-
.tion was held until the owner had es-
capped to think it all over, and months
later produced a new tail.
This is a common trick, and at one
time had several lizards with new tails
in various stages of growth. The lizards
have the power of casting on their tail,
which sc. resembles worm in its move
ments that 1t abstracts attention from
the victim itself.
In a little sandy clearing among the
flowers are the tell-tale tracks of vari-
Gus animals. Here the soft foot of rab-
bit; there the dainty outline of the foot
of the tufted quail. Here q snail has
crossed the mimic desert, leaving a faint
sinuous trail, while many delicate forms
| of the night have left their footprints in
| the sand. Here and there we may see
! little depressions of the greatest regular
| ity-mimic pitfalls. A strolling ant
comes jauntiiy along, bearing succu-
| lent morSel, which 1t has carried for
many an ant mile. Weary, perhaps, 1t
| fails to see the trap, and tumbles in;
| an easy matter, one would think, to
| Chamber out; but the sides of this cone
| shaped pit are smooth as glass, and the
ant slides down fairly into pair of huge
flaws, which lie concealed at the bottom,
| ready to crush it; and little later the
| skin is tossed out, and the. trap is
| ready for another victim.
This willy insect is the larva of the
| myrmeleon. The adult resembles small
| dragon fly which deposits its eggs In
| sandy places. The young look like little
| fiat beetles, with two prodigious jaws.
The larva is destined to pass two years
| in this form-a sort of probation, it
| would seem. The insect Immediately
| forms a pitfall by whirling it's body
about until a perfect inverted, hollow
cone is the result. with sides as slippery
as glass. In the bottom the maker hides
itself, the two long jaws merely resting
on the surface. When insects tumble in
! they are seized and devoured, the skin
being tossed out by being placed on the
back of the nimble livingftrap and jerked
| upward.
A curious and exceedingly unusual
freak is reported by deer hunter. The
hunter was up in Wexford county, Mich
| igan, and got on deer trail that had
hoof marks plainly made by buck. AL
most all hunters of deer can tell buck
from a doe track. After trailing the deer
and getting within a rod of 1t the buck
Ieaped out of clump of brush and goi