I was out on the patio with our visiting grandpuppy when I noticed this little girl zip across my line of sight. I watched her go near our AC unit and I went to get my camera fully expecting her to be gone by the time I returned. I was happy to get these photos because Prairie Racerunners wait for no one.

Prairie Racerunners, Cnemidophorous sexlineatus sexlineatus, belong to the Teiidae or Whiptail family of lizards. These are long-tailed and longitudinally striped lizards that inhabit the grasslands and deserts of the Southwestern United States. They are daytime active and like to eat insects, spiders, scorpions, and other small animals they find or dig out.

This individual sports the 3 green racing stripes down each side but lacks a seventh green stripe down the center of its back and inside the tan stripe found there. This specimen was about 3.5 inches from nose to vent (basically to base of tail).

We see this species several times per year when it gets warm enough for them to forage. I think they also come to the Air Conditioning condensate drain for water or bugs that go there too. Lots of fun to see, but they scoot out of range really fast.

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