What Do Wall Lizards Eat?

A common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) has caught a beetle (photo: Malcantone, Ticino, CH)

Wall lizards mainly eat invertebrates, preferably caterpillars, beetles, slugs, spiders, woodlice, and similar creatures. Although insects make up a large part of their diet, they will basically devour any small animal they can catch - sometimes even their own kind.

A large male common wall lizard is devouring a smaller female: cannibalism does occur in the species Podarcis muralis, but it is rather rare (photo: Malcantone, Ticino, CH)

Although wall lizards can run very fast, they are rarely seen chasing after prey. Instead, they search the ground flickering their tongue - which is the organ they smell with - until they find something to their taste, like a worm or a slug.

But the lizards are sometimes also ambush predators; they might climb to an elevated position - such as a wall with flowers growing next to it - and wait until an insect lands on a flower. Then they leap onto the flower and catch their prey, even if that means they'll fall to the ground because the plant cannot sustain their weight (which isn't a problem: wall lizards can easily jump or fall even from a height of a few meters without hurting themselves).

They like to drink water, provided it is available, otherwise they obtain fluids from their food and occasionally eat a berry or other small fruit. However, the vast majority of their diet is animal-based.

A common wall lizard eating a cherry (photo: Malcantone, Ticino, CH)

It is important to emphasize that wall lizards do not cause any damage to plants or gardens; they do not bite, they are not poisonous, and they are an excellent pest control, as practically all of a hobby gardener's worst nightmares (such as Japanese beetles, slugs, box tree moths, etc.) are on their menu.

What's more, the presence of wall lizards is an indicator of a healthy ecosystem: anyone who finds these beautiful reptiles in their garden can count themselves lucky. If you would like to attract them to your garden as well, here are some easy tips on how to make lizards feel at home there.

A common wall lizard basking on the flowers of a hydrangea (photo: Malcantone, Ticino, CH)

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