THE COMMON LIZARD, LACERTA VIVIPARA 53 



the best way to secure one was to overturn the stones under which 

 they had taken shelter. Accordingly I began to turn over first one 

 stone and then another, and after seeking for a considerable time, and 

 turning over several stones under which I felt stire one at least had 

 taken shelter, I was compelled to give up the search in despair, with- 

 out getting a glimpse of the animals again. Such is the capacity of 

 the lizard for keeping out of sight that it is next to impossible to 

 capture it when once it gets among rough stones, grass, or heath ; and 

 the rapidity with which it darts about on a surface of loose sand can 

 only be likened to the movements of a dragon-fly on a pool of water." 



Food. — The insects furnish the main food supply 

 of this species. Fhes of various kinds, blue-bottles, 

 the small blue dragon-flies which abound in July in 

 some places, June bugs, and beetles. In captivity 

 meal worms are generally depended upon, and these 

 the lizards take with evident satisfaction. An insect 

 which ventures within seeing distance of the lizard is 

 instantly captured and swallowed with great celerity. 

 Caterpillars in their season are not despised, and they 

 seem to vary the diet during successive months, 

 doubtless as the different insects become more 

 numerous. Miss Hopley found that her captive 

 lizards took flies in the early summer only, and later 

 on refused them ; and she hazards the opinion that the 

 flies may be obnoxious when depositing their eggs. 

 All her lizards refused centipedes, and ejected any 

 if swallowed accidentally. Spiders they all took 

 eagerly. 



Reproduction, — As the specific name implies, the 

 common lizard is viviparous or ovo-viviparous. The 

 number of the family varies from six to twelve. The 

 young burst the egg-membrane just after extrusion or 



