They're everywhere! At least that's the way it seems to me. Where I grew up on the East Coast, creatures similar to these were considered exotic and only found in wooded, wild places. Not here! I'd wager there isn't a backyard in Yolo County without a troop of these critters encamped. I'm talking about those push-up fanatics found on sunny rocks, scurrying between shrubs or clinging to vertical fence slats: Sceloporus occidentalis or the Western Fence Lizard. 

It turns out it's not bad to have a few of these diurnals around, especially if you're a gardener. Although some lizards eat plants, the Western Fence Lizards mainly consume garden pests like aphids, grasshoppers, beetles, caterpillars, ticks, and ants. They, in turn, become the prey of raptors, snakes, and some mammals, such as raccoons, but they have an escape route. If a predator latches onto a fence lizard's tail, it can be detached to avoid total consumption. The tail is left behind to keep the assailant busy while the rest of the lizard dispatches from view. On top of that, a new tail can be regenerated within 3-5 weeks. No harm, no foul!

And that aforementioned push-up behavior? It isn't a calisthenic move. It's a signal displayed by male fence lizards to warn other males away from territorial boundaries. When the males reach reproductive age, they use the same “moves” to attract females.

These creatures may be small (ranging from 4 to 8 inches at maturity), but they possess a superpower, and it's in their blood. They've evolved an immunity to Lyme Disease. When a tick feeds on this lizard's blood, a protein therein kills the bacteria that causes the disease. And even more amazing is the fact that the ingested lizard blood cleanses the disease- causing pathogen from the tick's gut, thereby preventing the tick from spreading the disease to other animals - including humans.

So the next time you see a Western Fence Lizard basking on a sunny rock in your yard, you may just want to say “Hello, Friend!”