delton howard

Imagine being notified that someone is at your door, only to find this friendly fellow on your doorbell!

This is the everyday experience for residents of a lush neighborhood in Tampa, Florida, that have had a rogue Allison’s anole colony pop up and spread across their houses and yards. Many residents love and cherish the beautiful anoles and have been happy to share them with me. So these pictures are the result of this summer’s visits to the colony. Enjoy these beautiful anoles and the stories that come with them!

Having heard about the location, I sent letters to all the homeowners in the area, requesting permission to study the colony. Many homeowners generously allowed me to wander their properties with gates kindly opened for me.

The male above is one of the alpha males near the epicenter. Around 70-80% of the males observed were on houses, instead of trees and bushes as normally expected from an arboreal anole.

The other alpha male of the epicenter is pictured below in the next three pictures.

His territory includes the lily plants where the first anole was spotted by the homeowner in 2017. This is clearly defined as the epicenter, since the rest of the surrounding homeowners said that they did not see the A. allisoni until a year or two later.

Here is his reaction to me getting too close and bothering him.

A female, pictured above warily watching me, is less dressed to impress and more to camouflage.

One of the most common ways for invasive anoles to spread is through the plant trade. Bromeliads, lilies, and other thick shrubs are imported from Cuba or other countries in the Caribbean with anole eggs unknowingly hidden in their leaves and trunks. When the plants arrive and are placed in a lush garden, or kept at a nursery, the eggs hatch and the anoles grow and being to reproduce, starting a new non-native population.

Pictured above is one of the many new arrivals to the colony this season. Eggs are laid from April-October and hatch from May-December.

A male, pictured below, whose territory does not include any houses, but a few trees and a fence, displays and then scurries away to hide in his tree.

Before catching sight of me, he was proudly displaying himself.

After noticing me he escaped into his tree.

Across the street, two anoles mate while clinging to the side of a house. You can see the drastic sexual dimorphism in this species in this picture, as well as the deep blue coloration that comes out in the males while mating or during territorial disputes.

The anoles seem to prefer properties on the block with houses that have rough stucco walls to cling to, for example the beautiful male below. Houses with smooth exterior siding are shunned by A. allisoni at this colony.

The male below is one of my personal favorites at the colony, a male with almost every color of the rainbow! I only saw him during one visit in July, and in my many visits since then, I have not once seen him. Did he leave to find a new territory? Or was he eaten by a predator? I hope to one day see him again.

Above, another alpha male surveys his territory from a branch, and after catching sight of me, decides to leap away and leave the scene.

Video linked below.

He leapt away.

Video linked below.

And then he taunted me in his successful escape.

Another blue male and a female from his territory, a few feet away.

The colony’s active season is between March and September. Outside of these months, the males have subdued colors, remain brown most of the time, and hide in nooks and crannies of the exterior of the houses.

A young male watches me as I take his picture, above. It was a great experience to find one mid-transition from juvenile to adult and see the colors coming in nicely. Sadly, I have not seen this anole either since then.

A male on the northern outskirts of the colony displays from a tree.

A male with some vivid light blue coloration peeks over the top of a fence to spy on me.

This is an interesting observation. Note the markings on this male clinging upside down to the side of a fence. Was he grabbed by a bird or bitten by a rival male? The rounded imprint close to his legs seems to give away some kind of injury.

A vivid green female peers at me inquisitively.

A juvenile popping its head out from a bush.

Usually I was able to spot at least one mating pair on each of my visits.

An interesting observation, this adult male with no blue, only green.

This male has proclaimed himself King of the Gutter, and basks in his territory.

This male is acrobatically clinging upside down to a copper pipe.

It was interesting to see the variety in the blue coloration.

Just a year ago, I believed I would have to journey to Cuba to see these exotic creatures. Little did I know I would be spending the following summer with them without leaving home!

I will return to the colony March 2022 to continue my observations. Follow me on iNaturalist as well for more anole content!

If you’re interested in seeing more Florida Allison’s anoles, please visit my Instagram @dailyanole. Don’t forget to watch my video on this colony as well!

Anolis allisoni in Florida: a Mini-Documentary

By delton howard

On April 10, 2021

In All Posts

Green Anole and Giant Day Gecko Locked in a Duel

By delton howard

On February 16, 2021

In All Posts

It’s invasive eat native time again here in Florida, where this poor but brave male green anole somehow found himself in a battle with a giant invasive gecko, Phelsuma grandis. Check out the video on ladywildbones’ Instagram page.

Phelsuma grandis is native to Madagascar, but has been introduced to South Florida as well, where several breeding populations exist in the Florida Keys.

*Phelsuma grandis* found in the Florida Keys | Image Credit: Delton Howard/iNaturalist

They eat insects, fruit, nectar, and any animal that will fit into their jaws, including anoles! Like anoles, Phelsuma are aggressive, territorial, and fast-growing. They are the ultimate Florida invader, though rivaled in success by the green iguana.

Juvenile Giant Day Gecko caught in the Florida Keys | Image Credit: Delton Howard/iNaturalist

We can probably expect to see more Day Gecko/Anole confrontations as the geckos increase their population.

Green and Brown Anoles: Short Film

By delton howard

On December 12, 2020

In All Posts

Here is a short film I made concerning green and brown anoles in Florida and their behaviors and physical differences. Follow me on Instagram @dailyanole!

Searching for the Elusive Allison’s Anole in South Florida, Part II

By delton howard

On November 7, 2020

In All Posts, Introduced Anoles, Notes from the Field

After my resounding success mid-October searching for Anolis Allisoni, a rare yet beautiful anole native to Cuba that has been found in Florida, I very recently returned to Naples to search, this time, at two different addresses reported to contain the elusive anoles.

Upon returning to the first address, I had to search for a long time, 20-30 minutes, before finally stumbling upon one adult male A. Allisoni relaxing on the top of a fence.

I only managed to snap one picture of it in this pose before it hopped onto a palm tree on the other side of the fence. As it slowly made its way up the tree, while cautiously keeping an eye on me, I snapped a few more photos.

After this, I moved on to the next address, about 15 minutes further south in Naples. The area to search was very small, but there were several dense bushes to sift through. After a half-hour spent combing the bushes and peering into the greenery, I finally spotted another adult male A. Allisoni in the underbrush, close to the ground. Unfortunately, he was so deep in the bushes that there was no way to get a clear photo. After an extensive chase, where I scratched myself all over with pointy branches as I tried pursuing the elusive anole through the bushes, he eventually disappeared.

Defeated, I looked up and spotted a small, likely female, A. allisoni hopping from twig to twig much higher in the trees above. This one also completely disappeared as I went to take a picture, unfortunately. However, just as I was about to give up hope and leave, I spotted one final small anole climbing the trunk of a nearby tree at hip level. I crept over and quickly wrapped my arms around the tree where I last saw the anole, and, sure enough, safely snagged it!

Again, at first glance, it appears to be a green anole. But look at the ear cavity. In this observation of a male A. allisoni, the ear cavity is also more of a gash, instead of a hole. And the large scales on the snout would also imply A. allisoni. What do you think?

Join me on Instagram @dailyanole to follow my adventures!

Searching for the Elusive Allison’s Anole in South Florida

By delton howard

On October 31, 2020

In All Posts, Introduced Anoles, Notes from the Field, Species Accounts

Driven by my quest to find Allison’s anoles (A. Allisoni) in the wild, a few weeks ago I dove into a pit of research papers to look for known sightings and/or colonies of A. Allisoni in Florida. I came upon a few vague notations of a colony in Naples with an address included. So, as part of a herping trip for various anoles and lizards to Miami last week, I stopped in Naples along the way.

I drove to the address and, after parking and entering the area, the first thing I saw was a large male specimen of A. Allisoni perched on the side of a palm tree. Shocked and delighted, I snapped a picture.

To see such a beautiful species of anole in Florida in the wild was breathtaking.

The male allisoni was perched on the palm tree with one large male A. sagrei (brown anole) below him. As I approached the palm to get a clearer picture, the sagrei leaped off the palm onto a smaller scrub, and the allisoni followed right after. The two briefly scuffled, nipping at each other before both went their separate ways and I did not see them again.

Strolling around the area to search for more, I found a very small green juvenile anole. It appeared to be allisoni, but did not give me enough time to properly examine it before scuttling up a tree and into the canopy.

Upon returning to the same spot where the first allisoni was, there was another just a few feet away that I had somehow missed the first time. This one had no hints of blue on its head, but simply from its large size, I took a guess that it was an allisoni. After succeeding at capturing it, I took a picture:

Upon first glance, it seemed to be A. carolinensis. However, on a closer look, both the shape of the ear hole and the large scales on the snout suggested allisoni. Here’s a picture of A. carolinensis for comparison:

For the genetics experts reading this, is there evidence of allisoni interbreeding with carolinensis?

Upon revisiting the address the next day, I searched in the same place I found the first allisoni, and, sure enough, found another one, this time suspected to be a female.