Don't you love that cute gecko from the Geico commercials? That lovely, bright green specimen is the Green Day Gecko, a resident of Madagascar. The sort of gecko we have at PITV is the nocturnal variety and not quite so brilliant colored.
But, bless its heart, look at the job it does for us! Last night, husband and I spotted this House Gecko nabbing that dread beast, the cockroach (aka palmetto bug) right there on our front porch. Now before you go thinking we are just really nasty people, having a giant cockroach (or two) so close to our home, please understand that it is impossible to live in Florida without encountering these disgusting vermin.
That is why I love our wonderful lizard predators. Voracious insectivores, they will truly eat anything. The nocturnal house geckos are especially great for capturing the night crawlers.
Go, go, Gecko! Now, I know, this gecko, one of the Hemidactylus species, is not a native of Florida, and it is abhorred by many people, as it is prone to infest houses and porches, unlike most lizards. Some believe that the 17 or so non-native geckos that call Florida home are displacing our native lizards as well, but I'm not really here to debate that today. Noxious invader or not, there is no getting rid of them at this point, and I think they surely must be helping with pest control, as you can see by this photo.
The nocturnal geckos look like very different creatures by day. The transparent, pink-hued skin is more opaque and patterned in daylight, and the eye pupils are narrow slits. I am basing this information on book knowledge, though, as I've never in all my days spied one of these beauties in daylight. I've only ever witnessed them at night, and always on a window or a wall of the house.
What is the difference between a gecko and an anole?
There is much confusion over the gecko and anole species.
America's brilliant native green anole is oft called a gecko in error,
probably due to its likeness to the more exotic green day geckos.
Most Floridians are very familiar with anoles, as they are diurnal, or active during the day, and very common here. Even though their body types are very similar, the gecko family differs in that they have fixed eyelids (like a snake), sticky, specialized toepads, and an audible vocalization (clicks or chirps). I'm not trying to be scientific here or anything, but I've also noticed the anole has smoother, scaly skin, while the gecko has bumpier, soft skin, kind of like a plucked chicken. Also, I've observed that the gecko moves in more of a snakelike, slithery manner than the anole.
Here a house gecko adheres easily to a glass window on my back porch.
This feat is made possible by specialized toe-pads.
This specimen is in molt, as you can see by its shedding patches of skin.
Dear FG, From the title of the posting I was not sure what you held in store for me. However, just a quick glance at the first image and I knew that I could go no further. I am, therefore, not at all sure what your posting was about as I have looked at nothing else other than the comment box. Happy Wednesday!
ReplyDelete@Edith Hope: EH, you crack me up! You should probably read it though, so you'll be prepared when you retire to Florida some day. ; )
ReplyDeleteHi FloridaGirl...I've never seen one of these types of gecko's in my neck of the woods. We do have something similar that we call a skink. They are kind of purplish in color and move more like a snake, too. I got a pic recently of an anole eating some critter (can't remember what it was). I love the little anoles, but my kitties are hard on the population on the patio :-).
ReplyDeleteAnoles rule our yard and gardens right now. Interesting pink lizard.
ReplyDeleteWe have geckos in the northern parts of Australia as well (different species though). They make a distinctive clicking sound. Do your do that as well?
ReplyDelete@Susan: I'm sure you have House Geckos. I've seen them my whole life, most of which was lived in your neck of the woods. We don't see them often, though, as they are nocturnal and don't like bright light. Just walk around your house at night and shine a flashlight on the outside walls. We too have the blue-tailed skink here at PITV. They are so beautiful! And you're right, they do slither like the geckos, though skinks are ground-dwellers, and geckos hang out on the walls.
ReplyDelete@Darla: We are so grateful for the lizards! Could you imagine the insect population without them?
ReplyDelete@Missy: Yes, they do make a clicking sound. I'm not certain what species this is, though I suspect it is Hemidactylus turcicus, aka the Mediterranean House Gecko.
ReplyDeleteLizards, you always have lizards. Very cool. jim
ReplyDelete@Jim Groble: Yes, Jim, the lizards will always be among us. : D
ReplyDeletehahaha,thanks for letting me know that geckos eat cockroaches. Imagine we have been living with geckos since we were children and i dont know that! I haven't seen them eating cockroaches, maybe coz they are always hiding at the back of everything. We were afraid of them coz it looks like they will cling to you when they touch you. No wonder their poos are smelling bad coz they have dirty diet! That's why nobody wants to clean them but mom! Yaicks!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of this nocturnal gecko. We have one that hangs out by our front door. I'm glad if he eats roaches, just want him to leave any luna moths alone. I didn't realize these weren't native. Thanks for the informative post.
ReplyDelete@Andrea: Rumor 'round here is that back a few decades, geckos were intentionally released in Florida to control the roach population here. Of course, the roaches are still with us, but here is proof that they really do eat them! I must admit I see more geckos and fewer roaches these days than when I was a kid.
ReplyDelete@NanaK: Aye, there's the rub! Our beneficials do sometimes eat our beautiful moths and butterflies, don't they? These creatures do prey on the night bugs that are drawn to porch lights and lampposts, moths included. I didn't know geckos were invasive either, until I started blogging. I remember them on our porches from when I was a little kid.
ReplyDeleteFascinating and as always great photos. I came across a similar conundrum the other day regarding invasive species when I found a violet ground beetle in the garden. Apparently they're from England and now invading North America. But they do good by eating bad insects and slugs. How to dislike something that eats slugs?
ReplyDelete@Marguerite: So true. It's quite hard to dislike a creature that eats the bad stuff. I need some of those slug-eating beetles!
ReplyDeleteHi Florida Girl, I was happy to see the picture of the gecko eating a cockroach. We have so many of these house geckos and I like the idea that they may have been picnicking on roaches. It's just that I've never seen them in the act!;)The tiny moths keep them ever so busy!
ReplyDeleteWe have skinks with grey/brown bodies and black stripes but I only heard about/saw anoles after I started blogging. I love to photograph lizards and you got some great captures.
Sorry I'm late in my response. This week I haven't been active on the blogosphere. The house and gardening kept me away:) Thank you for stopping by my blog the other day. I'd love to visit you often!
@kanak7: Hi, Kanak7! Thanks for dropping by my blog! Gotta love those lizards! I saw an anole take on a lubber once! Amazing! Wish I had photographed it, as I'm not sure I'll ever see that again.
ReplyDeleteI've seen lots of these little creatures here, but didn't know they were called house geckos. I think they are so ugly they're cute.
ReplyDeletePalmetto bugs live everywhere here too. That gecko is amazing -- I've never seen a pink reptile before!
ReplyDelete