Frog Eats Cicada Video

Okay, yes, this is weird and has no relationship to anything. Something most people don't know about me is that I am fascinated by "critters"--bugs, amphibians, lizards, etc. I think I got this from my dad and my uncle. Growing up, I had an aquarium with frogs and newts. My little boy Joshua Quinn has inherited this trait. (He went to our church's annual Harvest Party dressed as an aphid).

Below is a video I made that ties into this creature fixation. If you have an aversion to violence and bugs eaten raw you won't want to watch it. The story behind this is that we have a small fishpond in our backyard (the previous owners of our house converted an old Jacuzzi). A few summers back I raised several tadpoles to froghood and, when the 17-year cicadas invaded our world, I fed many of them to my frogs. Admittedly, it's a gruesome death for a cicada. I clipped their wings, put them on a tiny island in the middle of the pond and then waited for a hungry frog to slurp them up.

One more interesting story (okay, interesting to me). Though it's hard to believe, this same frog once ate a small bird. I'm not making this up! One morning I saw it sitting on the island in the middle of the pond with a look of both pride and serious indigestion. There was something sticking out of its mouth. I grabbed a pair of binoculars to see what it was and, lo and behold, it was the tiny foot of a bird! I wish I had that on video...although I'm sure you're glad that I don't! Thanks for bearing with me.