lizards and ants in the garden..couple of questions

[plantkiller]

#1 So I have more brown anole lizards in my back yard than I've probably ever seen in any small area. I see them chomping on bugs all the time--mostly flies/insects but I've seen them grab crickets and grosshoppers too. Are they known to be detrimental in anyway to the garden? Most any time I walk up to the veggie garden I see anywhere from 2 to 5 lizards scurry off (growing tomatoes, eggplant, okra, zucchini and squash). This may be a dumb question but a gardening book I have labeled lizards as "garden pests" without explaining why though it more specifically indicates salamanders burrow and eat/upset roots. Pretty sure there is a clear distinction with the two and since I don't have salamanders should be a non issue, but wanted to confirm if lizards can cause any garden problems that anyone is aware of.

#2 Ants. I've read continiously that they are not eating the plant but herding the aphids and eating their "honeydew". But I also see them (what looks like) eating the nectar of blooms (I've seen them coming in and out of squash blooms, cantaloupe blooms) and are basically all over all of the plants. Most of them are very tiny (what look like sugar ants). There are also some fireants that keep relocating. Just found one last night with a hill just outside my raised bed and spilled over into it where I was planning to plant some marigolds. I've yet to see a single aphid.. I could just be ignorant and misidentifying them or not looking thoroughly. I do have whitefly and leafminers in abundance. A few tomato pinworms and spider mites. But no aphids I'm aware of and definitely not in large numbers. Do I need to irradicate these ants? Are they harming my vegetable plants/fruit?? I see constant piercing/biting leaf damage but have not been able to nail it down to any insect in particular.

Thanks everyone

[rainbowgardener]

Whiteflies as well as scale insects and a few others also secrete honeydew.
None of them are things you want in your garden if you can help it. Ants also do sometimes eat dead, decaying plant tissue. So if something else is biting your plants and causing some dead areas, that could invite the ants.

All lizards are carnivores, eating insects, etc. They are usually considered beneficial in the garden and will not eat your plants.

[applestar]

If you have fire ants, [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=91560#91560]this post[/url] might help answer some of your questions.

[SP8]

All lizards are carnivores, eating insects, etc.

Not true as there are plenty of omnivorous and herbivorous lizard species!

[rainbowgardener]

OK... I read that somewhere about the lizards and it turns out to be not quite accurate. Iguanas are vegetarian and a few others like bearded dragons, geckos, etc are omnivores. However, it remains true that there are no common North American garden lizards that will eat the plants. Sorry for the sloppy usage.

[gixxerific]

I love my lizards they are great for the yard\garden in my eyes. My neighbor keeps bringing them back from his farm the they propagate here. That is all good in my book.

I had ants too hardcore for about a couple day's than they dissipated. I don't have aphids either I don't think.