Biological Papers. 225 



FOOD HABITS OF KANSAS LIZARDS AND BATRACHIANS. 



By F. A. Hartman, Wichita, 



SINCE a large proportion of the residents of Kansas depend di- 

 rectly upon the products of the soil, any animals which help 

 to preserve these products should be of general interest. 



It is recognized that birds and animals which prey upon rodents 

 are of great economic importance. Some of our birds give great 

 assistance to the farmer in the destruction of vast numbers of in- 

 sects. There are other animals which offer a large factor in this 

 destruction of insects — the reptiles and batrachians. Among the 

 reptiles, the snakes do a great deal of good by feeding on ob- 

 noxious rodents and some harm in the robbing of bird nests. The 

 turtle lives upon animal matter, a small part of which consists of 

 live insects; the gopher-turtle eats some vegetable matter. The liz- 

 ards, of all reptiles, are strictly insectivorous, with a very few ex- 

 ceptions. Neither as loathsome as the snakes, nor as lazy, they 

 are looked upon by most people as harmless. There are some peo- 

 ple, however, who fear them as they would a poisonous serpent. 

 One need not be alarmed at sight of any of the Kansas species, 

 for they are all harmless. They are, moreover, very useful. The 

 writer has collected data concerning a few of the more common 

 species. 



Holhrookia maculata, a squat, stubby-headed, little fellow, com- 

 mon in sandy regions, especially in the sand-hills sparsely covered 

 with vegetation, lives upon grasshoppers and small beetles. The 

 stomachs of three specimens collected in Graham county contained 

 small beetles and a grasshopper nymph. Sixty of these little fel- 

 lows were kept in captivity for a few months. They thrived on 

 grasshopper nymphs. Grasshoppers which showed no signs of 

 life when put into the lizard cage were never touched. But as 

 soon as a grasshopper would move one of the lizards would creep 

 quietly up to within an inch or two, turn his head quizzically then 

 suddenly grab the unsuspecting victim and jerk his head from side 

 to side in swallowing it. 



There is a brown, medium-sized, sharp-scaled lizard {Sceloporus 

 undulatus) that abounds in sandy regions which are covered with 

 cactus, weeds, or scraggy brush. It is found especially along the 

 banks of streams. The examination of five individuals showed that 

 they had eaten grasshoppers ( mostly nymphs), ground-beetles, and 

 -15 



