Sidewalk Saga: Links in the Food Chain Meet at Two Paces
My Nature Journal Summary
Date | October 06, 2022 |
Time | 8:00PM EDT |
Temperature | Approximately 70ยฐF / 21ยฐC |
Weather | Dark, scattered clouds |
Wind | None |
Humidity | 51% |
Habitat | Suburban neighborhood after sunset |
Animals Encountered | American Toad (Bufo americanus) Field Cricket (Grylla sp.) |
My Nature Journal Photos
American Toad (Bufo americanus)
This evening’s nature walk took my husband and me around our neighborhood. This American Toad squatted in the middle of the sidewalk and showed no inclination to move as we approached.
Toads have existed on earth for hundreds of millions of years and they are the bad-boys of the amphibian world.
They have thick, warty-looking skin, broad mouths and short, stubby legs. But the “warts” on their skin aren’t warts at all but are poison glands. These glands manufacture a milky poison that the toads secrete when attacked by predators. This poison is so effective that most predators leave toads alone.
Thus, this toad’s complete indifference to our presence.
Most humans don’t consider toads very attractive creatures. But I really like them.
Not only do I respect any animal that manufactures poison, I also really appreciate toads for their voracious appetites. Toads aren’t picky eaters and will eat anything they can fit into their mouths. They consume prodigious numbers of insects, especially those that crawl on or near the ground…..like say, cockroaches.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Any creature that will eat a cockroach is A-OK in my book.
Field Cricket (Grylla sp.)
That said, toads eat many animals that don’t inspire the same level of loathing in my heart as cockroaches. Such as crickets, for example.
A mere two steps away, this Field Cricket crouched on the sidewalk. She was a female, as evidenced by the long, spear-like ovipositor extending from the end of her abdomen.
And she was in mortal danger from the toad hunched just a few feet away.
Toads are ambush predators who can attack from a distance. They waitโquiet and stillโfor prey to wander by, then shoot out their long, stretchy tongues. Their tongues are tipped with sticky secretions that glue insects to them. The toads yank their insect-laden tongues back into their mouths and swallow the unfortunate insects whole.
I’d be willing to bet the toad knew the cricket’s exact location, and was just waiting for her to come a little closer.
Toads hear extremely well, which is one reason they can hunt so successfully at night. My human ears couldn’t hear the noise this cricket made as it crawled across the pavement. But I guarantee the toad could hear her approach just fine.
Conclusion
We didn’t wait around to see whether this cricket met her demise at the tongue of the nearby toad. I hope she hopped in the opposite direction and spent the rest of the night in blissful ignorance of the massive amphibian who lurked just out of sight.
But that’s mostly because I want my local toads to eat more cockroaches.