Originally from Italy, these lizards are an escaped pet that were introduced in the 1960′s. Notice how the front half of the lizard camoflages with green foliage and how the back half camoflages with the stone. Lizards bask to warm up and also for vitamin D synthesis. Usually skittish, this individual allowed me to take pictures from 8 inches away.
Italian Wall Lizard in its Impregnable Fortress
Dozens of these lizards can be seen on warm sunlit days, basking on the rocks and benches around the water fountains. The rocks also provide refuge when alarmed, habitat for hibernation, and overwintering. The Queens college campus offers a great habitat for these animals. They can also be found in similar habitats around the stone structure throughout the city including the Queen’s Botanical Gardens and Central Park’s Conservatory Gardens.
The fake grey rocks around the walls of the buildings harbor many slugs.In this case hundreds of slugs were mating under the fake rock.
Slugs are a type of mollusc related to clams, squid, and octopus. They congregate to mate. Hermaphoditic, some species pierce each other with ‘love darts’, injecting sexual hormones before mating. Thousands of blue eggs and white feces (or vice versa?) were also seen under the rock.
David Jakim
