Lizards’ Woes Linked to Argentine Ants

Ants may be pesky to humans. But they are deadly to lizards.

Two papers published in February suggest that a severe decline in coastal horned lizards in Southern California is due to the proliferation of Argentine ants, the tiny creatures that regularly invade homes during the rainy season.

The ants, which hail from South America, are so successful here that they have displaced many of the larger native ants that lizards traditionally ate. In laboratory studies, scientists at UC San Diego found that lizards didn’t seem to care for the taste of imported ants and lost weight unless they were given native ants.

The result “demonstrates that invasions can have communitywide effects,” said Andy Suarez, the lead author on one study.

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Compiled by Times staff writer Usha Lee McFarling