We are currently hosting a beautiful little 5-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus). Eventually, he will go back to the wild. In the meantime, we set him up in a cozy habitat with a rock and bedding of moistened leaf litter and tree bark after reviewing his requirements and preferences. We were delighted to learn that they eat (among other things) beetles. Our pumpkins are being decimated by an infestation of squash lady beetle (Epilachna borealis). We happily obliged his appetite by harvesting a couple dozen of the buggers from the foliage we hope will produce master jack-o-lanterns this fall.
So how do we know it's a male?
ReplyDeleteCarl
The blue tail.
ReplyDeleteFrom the linked Animal Diversity page:
ReplyDelete"Hatchlings, 5 to 6.4 cm in length, possess bright blue tails and distinct white or yellow stripes on a black background. Tail color dulls with age, and is more commonly retained in females than males, which display gray tails as adults (Fitch 1956)."
Has something changed since 56?
Carl