11 



cent of the total food. The iniurious habits of these species need no 

 comment. Of equal rank were the carrion beetles (1 per cent) of pos- 

 sibly beneficial habits, and miscellaneous beetles (1 per cent). The 

 latter, aside from an occasional iadybug (beneficial), are of no special 

 importance. The sole value of the carrion beetles lies in their habit . 

 of burying or devouring dead animal matter which might otherwise 

 become offensive. 



Cutworms and army worms. — The young or larvae of moths formed 

 28 per cent of the total food; cutworms forming 16 per cent, tent 

 caterpillars 9 per cent, and miscellaneous caterpillars 3 per cent. The 

 destruction of cutworms is of special importance. These insects feed 

 by night, and the grower only learns of their presence through the loss 

 of his lettuce, cabbage, and other plants. Hand labor offers the most 

 practical remedy, and this is ably assisted by the efforts of the toad. 

 To appreciate fully the number of cutworms a full-grown toad may 

 consume, one should watch these animals in a field infested by army 

 worms, which are members of the cutworm family. Three toads taken 

 under such conditions contained, respectively, 9, 11, and 55 army worms. 

 These soft-bodied insects are quicklj^ digested, and the toad's capacity 

 for cutworms seems only limited by the supply. 



Tent caterpillars. — The insects consumed by the toad are chiefly those 

 of terrestrial habit. Yet the good work of the toad is not confined to 

 insects of this class. There are a large number of caterpillars which 

 feed ordinarily on trees, yet seek the ground when ready to transform, 

 and these fall easy victims to the toad. The common tent caterpillar 

 of the wild cherry and apple well illustrates this point. These cater- 

 pillars when full grown often travel considerable distances in search 

 of suitable places for cocoon making. 



In May these insects formed 18 per cent of the food, and for the 

 season 9 per cent. This insect is a pest of the first rank on apple trees 

 and occasionally works on cherry, plum, and peach. It is much preyed 

 upon by the cuckoo and oriole, while the toad secures a fair proportion 

 of those that escape the birds. From 15 to 20 were often found in the 

 stomachs, 37 being the largest number noted. The writer once saw a 

 black-billed cuckoo eat 35 of these insects at one meal. That bird is 

 well protected by wise laws. The toad has equally as good a record, 

 but receives no legal protection from wanton cruelty. 



Miscellaneous caterpillars. — Among these insects, which formed 3 per 

 cent of the food, were noted such injurious species as the gypsy moth, 

 canker-worm, Vanessa, grape and celery caterpillars, tomato worms, 

 cabbage worms, etc. An abundance of active gy psv-moth caterpillars 

 in certain Massachusetts localities often proves sufficient to tempt the 

 toad from retirement even at midday. Three of the toads' stomachs 

 examined contained, respectively, Y, 16, and 65 gypsy caterpillars. 

 As a means of checking the increase of such a serious pest the value of 



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