Even while posturing with legs and feet held along his flanks so as not to scorch his sensitive little toes on the hot, sun-drenched log, this adult male Five-lined Skink is master of his domain, allowing no other adult males to enter his protectorate. Only juveniles and adult females sporting bright blue tails earn his forbearance and are permitted within his realm. With a diet consisting almost entirely of arthropods including insects, Five-lined Skinks are valuable residents around the garden and farm but are seldom found there due to their extreme sensitivity to the use of pesticides including both insecticides and herbicides.
