10 



provision against future need. On the other hand, they care for and 

 distribute plant lice and certain other related insects, infest lawns, 

 walks, and dwellings, attack cooked food, and often make of themselves 

 an unmitigated nuisance, as manj' a perplexed housekeeper can attest. 



Ants constituted 19 per cent of the total contents of the stomachs 

 examined. The greatest number was found in the Ma}" examinations, 

 when they were present in 70 per cent of the stomachs and formed 23 

 per cent of the food for that month. Aside from ants a few allied 

 insects — such as bumble bees, honey bees, wasps, and hornets— and 

 two ichneumon flies were noted in the examinations. The latter 

 insects are beneficial as parasites on certain caterpillars. Beekeepers 

 have informed the writer of cases where toads had taken position at 

 the entrance of hives, and thus destroj^ed a large number of bees. 

 This loss might have been avoided liy raising the hives above the sur- 

 face of the ground. Since the toads feed principally at night, such 

 cases are probably of rare occurrence. 



Beetles. — There is a certain family of active black or metallic ground 

 beetles, which are usually present in gardens, fields, or woodlands, 

 feeding for the most part on soft-bodied insects, and occasionally 

 varying their diet by attacking low-growing fruits. These ground 

 beetles undoubtedly are beneficial, as a whole, although the damage to 

 strawberries by certain species has caused considerable loss at times. 

 The most serious charge to be laid against the toad is the destruction 

 of these ground beetles, which make up 8 per cent of the total food. 



On the other hand, the members of the May -beetle and click-beetle 

 families are commonly present, and furnish 6 and 5 per cent, respec- 

 tively. The May beetle, or June bug, is unfavorably known as the 

 parent of the white grub, which, in certain years, destroys large areas 

 of grass land and lawns, and also works havoc on the potato crop. 

 Promiscuous shooting of crows has removed one of the principal checks 

 on this insect; hence the service of the toad in this connection is of 

 especial value. The "rose bug," or rose-chafer, was found in several 

 stomachs. 



The common wireworms, which attack newly planted corn, are the 

 progeny of the click-beetles, and these insects were present in large 

 numbers in the stomachs examined. Wireworms also attack potatoes, 

 lettuce, cabbage, and other garden crops. 



Snout- beetles, or weevils, make up 5 per cent of the toad's food. 

 These insects, of which the plum curculio is a good type, are among 

 the most difficult pests to combat. Nearly all have the habit of drop- 

 ping to the ground and feigning death when disturbed, thus giving the 

 toad a chance to capture them. Among the species found in the 

 stomachs were two specimens of the plum curculio, and many which 

 bore in standing timber and shade trees. 



Potato bugs, cucumber beetl^^s, and their allies amounted to 1 per 



196 



