Abstract
The present study analyzed the stomach contents of 65 Great Basin spadefoot toads, Spea intermontana (Cope), collected in an area of irrigation runoff in south central Washington State. Toads were collected by pitfall trapping. Traps were maintained for 1 year beginning in April 2002. Toads consumed at least 56 different arthropod taxa belonging to the orders Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Neuroptera, Orthoptera, Trichoptera, Collembola, and Araneae. Ants and darkling beetles were among the most common prey. Feeding appeared to be very generalized with the toads accepting almost anything they could capture and subdue.
Recommended Citation
Zack, Richard S. and Johnson, Diana G.
(2008)
"Feeding by the Great Basin spadefoot toad (Spea intermontana [Cope]) (Anura: Pelobatidae),"
Western North American Naturalist: Vol. 68:
No.
2, Article 11.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/wnan/vol68/iss2/11