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Fire ants (Solenopsis invicta), introduced from South America via the nursery industry's potted plants, pose a significant threat to all wildlife including horned lizards. Phrynosoma species do not eat fire ants. Fire ants kill many species of wildlife, and are fierce competitors against the native ants, which horned lizards require for food ...
Meat ants are able to kill poisonous cane toads, an introduced pest, as the toxins exuded by the toad, usually lethal against its predators, do not affect the meat ants. [138] Due to this, scientists in Australia have considered using meat ants as a form of pest control to reduce the cane toad population. [139]
Ants contain a large amount of chitin, an indigestible compound, this makes them not as nutrient rich, so larger amounts must be consumed to sustain Phrynosoma platyrhinos. As an evolutionary advantage desert horned lizards developed larger stomachs to allow them to consume larger concentrations of ants. [ 4 ]
In fact, ants make up 90% of the diet of many horned lizard species. Although harvester ants are venomous insects, somehow their venom doesn’t affect horned lizards .
The Texas toad feeds on insects such as beetles, ants and bugs. It digs a burrow in soft soil and can bury itself in mud. It sometimes conceals itself in a gopher burrow, under a log or in a deep crack in the mud to prevent desiccation, spending much of its time dormant in prolonged dry weather.
Meat ants are unaffected by the cane toads' toxins, so are able to kill them. [67] The cane toad's normal response to attack is to stand still and let its toxin kill or repel the attacker, which allows the ants to attack and eat the toad. [68] Saw-shelled turtles have also been seen successfully and safely eating cane toads. In Australia rakali ...
The adult Fowler's toad eats insects and other small terrestrial invertebrates, but avoids earthworms, unlike its close relative, the American toad (Anaxyrus americanus). This toad also has been shown to eat velvet ants, which is a wasp that gives a very painful sting to humans, but does nothing to the toad. [14]
What do cane toads eat? Cane toads are omnivores, which eat vegetation, insects, small birds, other toads or frogs, lizards, small mammals and snakes. They'll also eat any human or pet food left ...