A little American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus) in the garden waiting for something yummy to come by. Most toads are aggressive in seeking and hunting for their meals. The American Toad sits and waits for a meal to come within striking distance and will jump on it, or will shoot out its very quick, sticky, long tongue to capture the prey. That meal could be any number of insects or other invertebrates including snails, beetles, slugs, and earthworms, eating as many as 10,000 during a summer.

Highly variable in their length, ranging from 2 to 4.5 inches. It is a bit daunting when it comes to identification since this toad can be tan, brown, reddish-brown, or olive green. And then, there is a pattern, or maybe there isn’t a pattern. Daunting.

But I’m confident that is what this little guy is, eating pests in the garden. I’m hoping it will eat the Spotted Lantern Flies. I saw another one today.

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