that they have been forgotten, but toads came to my
attention again a few months ago. In a restaurant with
antique games and books set out to amuse waiting
customers, I happened upon a Lippincott’s Silent
Reader for second graders printed in 1923. In a story
on toads, it talked about how a farmer regarded toads
as one of his best friends. According to the farmer,
"one toad is worth five dollars a year."
Toads are as valuable today as
they were in 1923. One source claims a toad can eat 86
flies in 10 minutes, several thousand insects in a
month and 2,000 cutworms during a summer. Since they
have been around for about 65 million years in pretty
much the same form as we see them today, you could
probably say toads are the original contributors to
the concept of organic gardening.
Those who are not delighted by
the appearance of the squatty little bug-eaters among
their plants may be pleased to know that toads are
nocturnal and usually seek cool damp shelter during
daylight hours, thus keeping them out of view most of
the time. Of course if you’re inclined, you might
often observe their nightly meals being devoured near
any light source because the light attracts many
insects. As the Lippincott’s Silent Reader pointed out
to its young readers, toads eat caterpillars, beetles,
slugs and many other pests.
Frogs and toads belong to a
classification of animals known as Anurans. Like
frogs, "true toads" flick out their long sticky
tongues more quickly than the human eye can see.
Species of "true toads" number about 400, and the
common American toad lives throughout the <?xml:namespace
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/>US and southeastern Canada. Since toads are awkward
movers, their tongue speed and stickiness are
extremely important in catching prey. Some toads even
pull their eyeballs inwards and use the blinking
action to swallow their food.
Recently the Baltimore Sun
carried a news story concerning global studies that
show numbers of amphibians have been going down. Of
the 4,000 species, 2% are extinct and 43% are
endangered. This threat to amphibians affects the
Many studies over the last
decade show that the numbers of frogs and toads have
been declining. Biologists have collected information
from Australia, Canada, India, Europe, Central and
South America and much of the western US. There are
organizations that are convinced the decline is
occurring simultaneously worldwide. When numbers of
particular species fall off, the problem may not be
noticed immediately. For example, a strange frog in
Costa Rica that incubates its eggs in its stomach has
not been seen in years.
Suspected culprits include
acid rain and the thinning of the ozone layer. Another
possible cause may be the amounts of toxic compounds
in the air that are dangerous to animals like toads
and frogs that breathe through their skin. Some
biologists believe a wide-spread fungus could be to
blame. Others believe the decline is the result of
natural environmental fluctuations that periodically
occur. The greatest challenge is to identify a reason
for the overall steady change and to do something
about it if we can.
If you are fortunate to have
toads in your own garden, you may want to invest in a
toad house. Recently these structures have become
commonplace in the garden departments of many stores.
Toad houses can be ornate or simple, or you can simply
create your own by propping a covering over some
stones set to provide a cave or low hiding place.
Water nearly will also help to attract a resident
Although toads have many
enemies, they protect themselves with a poisonous
milky substance released by the paratoid glands near
their eyes. Predators that have caught a toad soon
learn of this unpleasant substance and are usually
more than happy to release their nasty-tasting prey.
This same substance does not, however, cause warts as
many people believe.
Toads are fascinating little
creatures, worthy of a space in anyone’s garden.
Should you decide to investigate them, you will, no
doubt, find them to be a "toadally" absorbing topic
Read other articles on birds, wildlife & beneficial insects
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