One of the Anoles was a bit smaller, but more often than not, it would be winning the fight.

Male Anoles Fighting In Mouth Lock

They would get in this mouth lock, then start flinging each other back and forth.

These guys were bleeding from their mouths.  I gave up watching them after 2 hours.  I was curious if one of them would kill the other one, but when I checked on them after 2 hours I didn’t see either one of them.  I had no idea these guys would be so territorial.  I realize there would be fights for dominance, but couldn’t believe they would literally fight for 2+ hours.  They had to be exhausted whenever they finished.

Green Anole Males Bleeding From Mouth

Green Anoles Mating In Garden

Here’s a video.

Before I get to that, I wanted to share some information and see if others might have noticed the same thing.

We’ve had quite a few eggs and Caterpillars from the Eastern Black Swallowtail, but just as the Caterpillars get to be a decent size, they disappear.  I now have a theory.  I think the Green Anoles have been eating them.  I offer that theory for a couple of reasons.  One, those Anoles have been really stalking our outdoor Butterfly Enclosure that contain the Monarch Butterfly Caterpillars and Chrysalises.  I’ve pretty much “Lizard-Proofed” the enclosure, but they haven’t stopped trying to find a way in.  My second reason for this theory, is that the Green Anoles were hanging around the Fennel and Dill where the eggs and Caterpillars were feeding until I took them inside to raise them.

So what do you think?  Have you ever observed Green Anoles feeding on Butterfly Caterpillars?

Now for the pictures.

This first picture contains two Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillars.  You can see the one on the left is absolutely huge!  I thought for sure it would begin forming a Chrysalis yesterday, but it continues to feed.  It almost looks like it’s about to burst.

Two Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillars Feeding On Fennel

In comparison to Monarch Caterpillars, the Eastern Black Swallowtail tends to prefer structures where it can attach itself to a structure and hang.  This wire structure that the Caterpillar and Chrysalis are attached to is at the bottom of our indoor Butterfly Enclosure.  They didn’t attach themselves to the top of the enclosure like a Monarch would typically do.  It doesn’t seem to be as concerned about protecting itself from the elements like a Monarch Caterpillar.  The only problem with these Eastern Black Swallowtails attaching themselves to this location is there is no way they could exit the Chrysalis and dry their wings without us moving the structure as it’s barely an inch off of the ground.

If you’ve ever wondered what an Eastern Black Swallowtail Chrysalis and Caterpillar look like side by side, well here’s a picture.  It’s pretty obvious how difficult it would be to find the Chrysalis in the outdoors.  It would likely attach itself to the stem of a plant that matched the color and texture of the Chrysalis and unless you have “eagle eyes” it would be difficult to find.

Eastern Black Swallowtail Caterpillar And Chrysalis Comparison

Lizard Drinking Water On Branch

At first I didn’t even see this Lizard, but then I saw the scurrying up the branch and there it was.  It didn’t even mind getting a little wet in the process.

For the critters that depend on a little warmth to get moving, they took advantage of the sunshine.

One such critter was this Lizard (Anole).  He started off a bright green color, then the further down the bricks he went, the more he changed his color towards brown.

Lizard Going Down

I’m walking down the trail to the Wildflower field and noticed this large, green Spider.  On closer inspection I could see this Spider was eating some type of Skipper.  I have no idea what kind of Spider this is, so if you know, please share.

Spider Eating Skipper

I finally make it to the Wildflower field, where it is just covered in yellow from the Black Eyed Susans.

Black Eyed Susan Field

I then started scanning the field, looking for Butterflies.  It’s pretty cloudy outside, and not terribly warm, so I didn’t expect to see many Butterflies.

Then I see some orange movement from the corner of my eye.  It’s a Gulf Fritillary warming up for the day.  It looks as though it’s been around for a while, as it has a torn wing.

Torn Wing Fritillary

I continued to scan the field.  There’s a black and grey speck on some type of weed.  I zoom my lens in for closer inspection.  It’s a Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar. It seems a little lost, as this plant doesn’t appear to be one of its host plants.

Gulf Fritillary Caterpillar On Weed

Last time I was here, it was a warm, bright sunny day, but not today.  Not near as many Butterflies as before.  Since I brought my macro lens, I thought it might be fun to look for smaller insects.

“Hmm, weird looking leaf on that Black Eyed Susan” I think to myself.  “Uh, did that leaf just turn its head?”  “Damn, that’s no leaf, that’s a big ol’ green Praying Mantis.”

Praying Mantis On Black Eyed Susan

Why does that Praying Mantis keep turning its head back and forth?  Does it see some type of prey I can’t see?  “Ah ha, I found it!”  I see what its looking at.  It’s looking at another Praying Mantis.  This one looks much different than the one before, just gray in color.

Gray Praying Mantis

I continue scanning inside other Black Eyed Susans.  There’s something green-like inside of one of them.  “Is that thing moving?”  It is, but I don’t know what it is, other than some green looking worm.  No idea what it is, so I make a mental note to investigate once I get home.

Green Worm On Black Eyed Susan

“Wait a minute, is that another worm inside yet another Black Eyed Susan?”  It is, but this one is yellow.

Yellow Worm On Black Eyed Susan

Leecy calls.  She tells me she can join me.  I tell her I’m in the Wildflower field.  Leecy finally joins me and I show her all the critters I have seen thus far.

Suddenly off to our left, this large bird dives head first into the field of Wildflowers.  What the hell?  I can’t get a picture of that, I have the macro lens attached, not my zoom lens.  “Leecy quick, hold this (my macro lens) while I change lenses!”

That big bird starts flying.  I’m not ready, I’m still changing lenses!  “Leecy, watch where that bird goes” I shout!

That bird lands in a tree, not terribly far away.  Looks like a hawk of some sort (It’s a Swainson’s Hawk).  “Look at this size of those feet” I tell Leecy!

Swainson's Hawk

The hawk starts to fly off, and of course, I wasn’t ready to get a picture.  Oh well.

Leecy starts complaining that her feet hurt from the walk she did this morning.  “Okay, let’s just follow this trail around the pond, then we can head home, okay?”  Leecy agrees.

We round the bend, still on the trail by the Wildflower field, and notice there are lots of Fritillary’s flying around.  They really seem to like this plant that has these delicate white flowers on them.

Fritillary On White Flowers

Besides the Fritillary’s, there’s some Skippers that also appear to enjoy this plant.

Skippers On White Flowers

We finally make it around the pond where there is a bench so Leecy can rest her feet.  I start scanning the pond, looking for any type of movement.  A brown shape gently causes the water to move, then another.  A head pops up.  I know these guys, they’re Red Eared Sliders.  Actually it’s a whole family of Red Eared Sliders (probably 7 of them).  The biggest one starts to rise out of the water.

Red Eared Slider

Leecy whispers she’s getting tired.  “Okay, let’s start heading back.”

We make it back to the main building of the Arboretum.  “Leecy, can I show you where we were when I took my Photography class?”  She nods.

We hear Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, but we can’t see them just yet.  I’m scanning the plants for Caterpillars.

“What the heck is that I ask?”  It looks like a giant green worm with red dots on it.  It’s eating that plant it’s on, whatever it is (anybody know what it is?)

Giant Green Worm

“Look at the lizard Leecy tells me”.  “Wow, this guy is really shedding.”

Lizard Shedding

We both continue to scan the plants for some type of movement.  No movement, but another weird looking Worm or Caterpillar catches my eye.  This one looks like that big green one, but this one is yellow.

Yellow And Red Worm

Leecy tells me again how her feet are hurting and I realize that it’s time to go.  It’s supposed to rain today, so we should probably leave.

And off we go, a fun day at the Houston Arboretum (at least for me, Leecy is now sleeping so I can’t ask her:-)

In the early summer we had lots of little Lizards (Anoles).  Now it seems as most of those Lizards have grown up and become big and fat.  Check out these photos of a Lizard stalking some prey.

Hmm, possible dinner?

Guess this wasp won’t become dinner tonight.