Mokka mit Schlag » Nature

Epargyreus clarus, Ridgewood Reservoir, 2006-06-09

When we first visited Ridgewood Reservoir back in April, a local told us that there were hundreds of large lizards at the site in the summer. That was hard to believe since New York has almost no native lizard species (in fact, only two, both skinks). You occasionally see an escaped pet iguana; but they never make it through the winter. However today on our fourth trip to the site we found one of the rumored lizards and trapped it in a bottle so we could get a closer look:

Al Ott identified this as an Italian Ruin Lizard, a.k.a. Italian Wall Lizard, Podarcis sicula. Rob Jett also recognized it from a trip to Rome. They’re an invasive species that has been settling small colonies on Long Island for the last three decades or so, and they’re expanding. So far all we have is this one specimen, but I suspect we’ll see more as the summer progresses.

How they make it through a New York winter I have no idea; but apparently they can do that, something few native American lizards can do.
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Atropa belladonna Solanum dulcamara, Ridgewood Reservoir, 2007-06-09

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Red-eared Slider, Trachemys scripta elegans, Prospect Park. 2007-05-25

These are common in Prospect Park and other New York area parks. They’re not native. The colonies are all the results of released pets. These cute little guys grow into much larger turtles, and turtles just can’t hold a child’s interest as long as a dog or cat.

In many places, they’re crowding out the native turtles. I rarely see any other turtle species in Prospect Park these days.
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Cabbage White, Pieris rapae, Sandy Hook, 2007-04-29

This is very common invasive species, probably the most common butterfly in our area; but it’s so flitty that this is the first half-decent picture I’ve gotten of one in several months of trying.

Can anyone identify the flower it’s perched on?

Tamias Striatus, Prospect Park, April, 2007