Sometimes, Beetles Make Toads Regret Their Meal Choice

Take a while and watch toads eat if you ever get the chance. They're absolutely voracious. When I lived in the south, they used to hang out on my front porch, eating all kinds of bugs attracted by the light. I once saw a toad try to eat a slightly smaller toad. If it's smaller than them and it moves, they'll try to eat it.

In hindsight, it's quite a brilliant tactic. Wait to be swallowed, then fire all you got into the predator's insides.

“After the beetles were swallowed, a small explosion could be heard inside each toad, indicating that the insects were firing their defenses.”<p>To write that line in the NYT and not accompany it with a waveform in 2018 on the web is a little disappointing. Perhaps the prose is more poignant than the practice.

Let&#x27;s hope oysters won&#x27;t evolve that!