Visitors...

I was making a sandwich at the kitchen sink this noon and noticed a new visitor hanging out on the blinds on the back door. He/she was very upset at my attention, couldn't pick it up. By the time I got back it was on the ceiling.





I leave the front porch light on all night (CFL then LED so it takes minimal power...). These guys showed up to feast on the bugs that show up there...







I haven't been able to find out exactly what they are. They seem to blend in with whatever they're on, but almost everything is a shade of brown or orange. They are really *fast*! The only reason I noticed them was because one ran off as I was walking out the door and I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I now check each time when I walk out at night (I suppose this looks a little wierd to the neighbors...).

Lizards, bugs, and other critters that eat other bugs are mostly welcome around here, especially if they eat crickets! Almost everything, I'll protect from the cat (snakes are gently carried back outside where it's safer). Spiders, though, are on their own!

Your bug is a praying mantis. Lizard is, I believe, some form of gecko. But, I am no expert.

Mike


Launching rockets (or missiles in my case) is so easy a chimp could do it. Read a step, do a step, eat a banana.

Sent from my iPad Air using Rocketry Forum.

We have them too. There is one on a living room window right now. Somewhere around here I have a snap of the time when we had nine of 'em on the window at once.

Yes they are fast. They also shed their tails if you try to grab them by the tail. The tail goes spastic, wiggles around for a couple seconds while they make their escape.

Cool little lizards.

That's awesome!

sooner.boomer said:

I leave the front porch light on all night (CFL then LED so it takes minimal power...). These guys showed up to feast on the bugs that show up there...

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I haven't been able to find out exactly what they are. They seem to blend in with whatever they're on, but almost everything is a shade of brown or orange. They are really *fast*! The only reason I noticed them was because one ran off as I was walking out the door and I saw it out of the corner of my eye. I now check each time when I walk out at night (I suppose this looks a little wierd to the neighbors...).

Lizards, bugs, and other critters that eat other bugs are mostly welcome around here, especially if they eat crickets! Almost everything, I'll protect from the cat (snakes are gently carried back outside where it's safer). Spiders, though, are on their own!

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In Hawaii they are said to bring good luck.

Yep those are Geckos. Never lived anywhere with many of them before moving to Texas. When we first got here I couldn't figure out who in our neighborhood kept arming and disarming their car alarm. After about a year I commented on it to my wife who informed me (after she stopped laughing) that Geckos "chirp". That certainly explained why I didn't hear them in winter.

sooner.boomer said:

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Well, that last pic sure looks like a leopard gecko to me - we had one as a "pet" for about 10 years. It's puzzling, though, as I thought they were native to desert areas around southern Asia, and certainly not North America (unless you count pet shops). Yes, they eat live crickets; yes, they drop their tails in defense. You had me wondering whether that's an "escapee," but another trip to Wikipedia, and I'm thinking that it may be a (similar) house gecko, which probably is found in the American South.

Mark (now done buying live crickets every couple of weeks...)

Cl(VII) said:

After about a year I commented on it to my wife who informed me (after she stopped laughing) that Geckos "chirp".

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I thought they spoke with a British accent and sold car insurance.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

I thought they spoke with a British accent and sold car insurance.

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That's what I thought too TB, but these are spotted and not green. Bet they talk in a Texas drawl and sell oil futures


Launching rockets (or missiles in my case) is so easy a chimp could do it. Read a step, do a step, eat a banana.

Sent from my iPad Air using Rocketry Forum.

True, in Hawaii they are considered good luck (mostly because they can eat a TON of mosquitoes!). I lived there 4 years and we always had many in the house, free roaming.

That one isn't a leopard gecko, though. Leopard geckos (unlike most other geckos) don't have the super grippy toes that allow the others to walk up walls or ceilings. Lots of other differences, but that's the main one. My daughters have one as a pet. She's not yet full grown, but is about 10" long or so. Very cool.
-Ken

We had a gecko for a pet when we lived in Omaha. Pretty cool watching her eat the crickets or meal worms. Only issue I had was when she shed her skin every so often. Skin got caught on her toes a lot.


Launching rockets (or missiles in my case) is so easy a chimp could do it. Read a step, do a step, eat a banana.

Sent from my iPad Air using Rocketry Forum.

Has the markings of a High Yellow Leopard Gecko for sure! But correct about the lack-o suction cups. LG's have claws. Good for climbing trees and sofas, but not much else. Also, they have fatter tails (they are kissing cousins with African "Fat-Tailed" Geckos).

Very curious.

Oh, and praying mantises can be pretty mean if provoked, biting and clawing. Be careful if you try to handle them.

Bat-mite said:

Oh, and praying mantises can be pretty mean if provoked, biting and clawing. Be careful if you try to handle them.

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When I lived in Massachusettes my Nana used to have Praying Mantids all over her Yard because her and the Folks in her Neighborhood all had them for their Gardens. I was just a Kid and those things terrified me! If you got too close to them they would fly at you and attack! One attacked my Aunt one day and got tangled in her Hair! I thought it was hilarious but it was also scary.

And that is the female! Male mantids are smaller and are killed after mating by losing their head to the female...


Launching rockets (or missiles in my case) is so easy a chimp could do it. Read a step, do a step, eat a banana.

Sent from my iPad Air using Rocketry Forum.

Looks like the lizard is a Mediterranean House Gecko. After googling for images, it was obvious it was a gecko from the splayed toes.

The critters are out in force for some reason. Found two more mantises on the car last night when I had to run errands. Got them to fly off into the grass so I wouldn't run over them The one on the kitchen ceiling is now gone, but there's a large wolf spider in the sink. I'll shoo it into a cup and drop it off in the yard later.

I wonder if the cat is letting them all in?

Just now I went into the kitchen and flipped on the light. Gecko was sitting on the counter. Guess I shoulda shot a video of me trying to chase it and catch it (I finally succeeded) so I could put it back outside, it would have been a hilarious sight----to anybody else.

I swear there must be a thousand of 'em out there on the sides of the house. I can't figure out why we have such a big crop this year.

It is always interesting when there is a population explosion of some sort of creature. This year I'm dealing with Gartner snakes. Every time I mow, I cut up 5 or 6. Had two of them in the garage a couple of days ago. Wife was not happy. About 5 years back while coming down the drive, I noticed my house was a different color. What the heck, who painted my house? Upon inspection the side of the house was covered in box elder bugs. Thousands, if not tens of thousands of them, enough to change the color of the house. Some dish soap in water, and a garden sprayer took care of the problem, but what a mess. Took 6 months to get every one out of the house. They must taste bad, cause the cat who will eat anything that fly's would not touch them.

Mike

Appears to be a Leopard Gecko. We have one as a pet at home. Ship those bugs to me, he is a fantastic hunter and would love them!

I was pulling weeds in a flower garden one hot summer day when I paused a moment to wipe the sweat off. It was a perfectly still day and quite as death and I heard a very faint sound like somebody eating celery.

I looked and looked and was finally able to locate the source of the sound which turned out to be a Praying mantis eating alive a black widow spider. It had the body of the black widow held firmly in one of its forward limbs and was methodically pulling its legs off and chewing them up one by one.

Nature even, maybe especially at that level, is brutal.