With all the talk these days about ticks and Lyme disease, it’s good to know that at least some creatures are looking out for us. Blue-belly lizards (also known as the western fence lizard, or Sceloporus occidentalis) are a common sight in California. You can find them pretty much anyplace but the high peaks and the driest desert, often showing off for the ladies by doing push-ups! Their entertainment value aside, blue-belly lizards also provide another great service. The lizards are often host to black-legged ticks, nasty little creatures that are the vector for Lyme disease (which, if you’re not familiar with it, is something you really don’t want to get). The lizards carry a protein in their blood that, when ingested by the tick, kills the Lyme disease bacteria in the tick’s gut – effectively curing the tick of the disease and preventing it from being passed on to us!
