Horned Lizard Research Paper

Horned Lizards: The Collateral Damage of The War Between Fire Ants and Harvester Ants
Hollie Hutto Horned lizards, or more commonly known to the native Texans as "horny toads," have a main diet of harvester ants. Also common to Texan residents are the large, red, and painful fire ants. Due to the fire ant's destructive nature, pesticides have been set out to rid of them, but have also caused destruction to the docile harvester ant's population. With this decline in the horned lizards main source of diet, the lizard's population has also decreased.
Fire ants were introduced into the United States from cargo ships beginning in the 1930s. Since their arrival the fire ants have spread throughout the majority of southern states causing damage and harm throughout. Fire ants have caused damage to an estimated ten species of birds, two lizards, two alligators, seven turtles, two snakes and a toad, two fish, seven mammals, and a large number of invertebrates (Vinson, 2013). In the state of Hawaii, it has been estimated that fire ants will cause $2.5 billion worth of damage over the next 20 years (Vinson, 2013). In the southern states it is estimated that $5 billion annually is spent on eradication, repairs, and medical treatments …show more content…
This lead to the initial decline in the horned lizard's species. In 1855-1890 approximately 1,000 horned lizards were collected year, which makes 5,000 lizards collected during this five-year period (Jennings, 1987). In 1890-1910 around 5,000 horned lizards were collected a year, which is 100,000 lizards total in this twenty-year period (Jennings, 1987). In 1910-1930 it was estimated that 500 lizards were collected a year to make 10,000 total lizards in this twenty-year period (Jennings, 1987). As the population of horned lizards decreased even more, state laws were passed to prevent the sale of horned lizards so the species could

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