What Type of Bugs Do Frogs Like?

Frogs belong to the zoological class of "amphibians" under the order of Anura (meaning "without tail" in Greek), which includes toads. The basic diet of a frog is mostly insects and bugs. Since frogs are carnivores, they also relish eating lizards, small mice and even other frogs.

  1. Live Food

    • Frogs love live food. These include cockroaches, crickets, flies, termites, brown slugs, caterpillars, aphids and bag worms. The choice of bugs, quantity and frequency of feeding depends upon the size of the frog. Small species prefer smaller live foods such as larvae, fruit flies, red worms, worker ants (not the large ones with strong jaws), leafhoppers, gnats, aphids and wax-worms.

    Crickets

    • Crickets are favored insects for feeding frogs, but they soon tire of them if given too many. Too many crickets in a frog's diet also can cause digestive problems because crickets contain "chitin," the same bio-compound in human nails and hair. Frogs that ingest too much chitin can develop "impaction," which is difficult to cure and almost always causes death. To prevent this, alternate the frog's diet with flies and other soft-bodied insects.

    Worms

    • Mealworms are just starch and hence not good for your pet frog. Too much starch in the diet can cause liver damage in frogs. Only give mealworms to pet frogs once a month. Wax worms also have high-fat content, but occasionally can be fed to frogs. It is best to offer these worms as treats once or twice a month so your frog won't get sick or addicted to them.

    What Not to Feed

    • Some bugs should not be fed to frogs because of their toxicity, usefulness to the environment and potential to harm the frog while fighting them off. Do not feed wasps, bees, spiders, ladybugs, praying mantis, stinkbugs or millipedes to your frog.