Do Enticing Mites Help Florida Scrub Lizards Attract a Mate?

Set out on a hike at Florida’s Tiger Creek Preserve, and it won’t be long before you see a small brown lizard scuttle through the undergrowth. And while some of them might be the ubiquitous brown anole, an introduced species from Cuba, others merit closer inspection. 

The dark lateral stripe along the lizard’s body might be your first clue. Or the chunky head. Or maybe the bright flash of turquoise on its flanks. It’s a Florida scrub lizard. 

If you keep hiking through the pines and oak hummocks, you’ll see more scrub lizards scurry along in your wake. And some of them — in addition to brown stripes and turquoise splotches — might have small red patches behind their ears. 

These splashes of color aren’t part of the lizard’s normal coloration; they’re signs of a mite infestation. And scientists working at The Nature Conservancy’s Tiger Creek Preserve are using lizard robots — yes, robots — trying to figure out if these mites helped lizards attract a mate.  

Lizards of the Scrub 

The Florida scrub lizard, Sceloporus woodi, is a small, brown lizard found in Central Florida. It’s one of nearly 100 lizards in the Sceloporus genus, but most of those species live in the American southwest and Mexico. The Florida scrub lizard is one of only two Sceloporus species found in the Sunshine State, where it lives in oak and sand-pine scrub ecosystems. 

If you see a Florida scrub lizard scurry past you on a hiking trail, you might notice their grey-brown scales and dark lateral stripe running along the sides of their body. Males also have bright turquoise patches on their bellies and throats. But if you look closer, you’ll see that some lizards have red markings just behind their ear openings.