Bufonidae 



The toad eats the black crickets* that are 

 said to damage the strawberr}' crop. 



The mouth opens and 

 the fly is gone. When the 

 fly ahghts farther away, 

 the toad springs forward 

 on his strong hind legs, 

 then easily slips back into 

 a sitting posture again. 

 That is all that we can see, 

 but again the fly is gone. 



Look once more. 

 There are many chances to 

 observe, for he is bobbing 

 back and forth as fast as possible, and the flies are constantly 

 disappearing. The free hind end of the tongue is thrown out 

 and pulled back so quickly that we can scarcely see the flash 

 of pink. The tongue touches the fly, however, which adheres 

 to its sticky surface, and so is carried far into the back of 

 the mouth. 



The toad walks over the lawn and catches the crickets, the 

 locusts, and the grasshoppers there, not in the least objecting to 

 their hard coats, their long spiny legs, and the " molasses " of the 

 locusts. (Figs. 50 and 51.) He may swallow even a bee or a wasp 

 found on the low clovers or dandelions, and seems to feel much less 

 uncomfortable afterward than one might suppose. 



Farther out in the garden, he snaps up the beetles and bugs 

 that are running close to the ground or eating the potato, squash 

 or cucumber leaves. 



He rejoices as a blundering May beetle noisily sheathes its 

 wings near him. (Fig. 53.) Before it has time to begin the task 

 of laying its many 

 eggs, it furnishes a 

 mouthful that makes 

 the toad shut his 

 eyes hard several 

 times to get the big 

 thing swallowed. 

 For, strange as it 

 may seem, the large 

 eyes of the toad can 



The wingless grasshopper (Ceuthophilus) of the 

 ground. 



1 Gryllus abbreviatus. 



82 



