On 12 May 2003 at 18:00, preacher wrote:

> Have any of you had trouble with lizzards hanging around your hives. If
> you had, how do I get rid of them. I thought of target practice but there
> are too many. thanks preacher

    I've had anoles, more often called chameleons, in great numbers
around my bees in the South. I've never been able to see any real
damage from their presence. I suspect that they eat some bees, but
also they eat wax moths, roaches and spiders.  On balance, I
believe they do some good. They are also quite tame and friendly.

   They are welcome at my place. I've thought of keeping a couple
inside, like some folks do with geckos, but have found skeletins of a
couple that apparently found their way in and then starved. So I
guess there's not enough bugs to sustain them.

   You did not mention any evidence of damage. Why do you want to
kill them?  All God's creatures have a purpose. Sometimes they
cross our purposes, and we have to do something about it (we do
have permission), but we should not do this unthinkingly. We are
but stewards (the good book says the earth is the Lord's) and I think
we will be held accountable for all the things we mess up without
thinking.

   I'm sure you've seen where the public urge to kill something that is
poorly understood is a real problem for bees (and beekeepers).
Why not look at them as fellow members of God's covenant
(Genesis 9:9-10), and simply leave them alone unless there is
compelling reason to do otherwise.

Dave Green   SC  USA
The Pollination Home Page:  http://pollinator.com

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