Are Frogs Insects? A Clear Explanation of Frog Animal Classification

Frogs are not insects. Insects belong to the phylum Arthropoda, while frogs are amphibious animals of the phylum Chordata. Frogs feed mainly on insects, and the vast majority of the insects they eat are agricultural pests. Some estimates suggest that a single frog can prey on 70 pests a day, and in a year can eliminate 15000 pests.

Which insects do frogs prey on?

Frogs are omnivorous animals, among which plant-based food accounts for only about 7% of their diet, while animal-based food accounts for about 93%. Among the animal-based food, the animals swallowed involve four phyla, four classes, ten orders and more than thirty families. Of the 156 prey animals, insects of the class Insecta account for 80%, with Lepidoptera being the most numerous, followed by Coleoptera, then Hemiptera and Diptera.

Lepidoptera includes: rice leaf roller, rice stem borer, rice skipper, armyworm, corn borer, pink bollworm, rice caseworm, eyebrow mosquito noctuid, rice eye butterfly. Coleoptera includes: rice leaf beetle, rice weevil, scarab beetle, ladybug. Hemiptera includes white-backed planthopper, gray-backed planthopper, rice black stink bug, brown-backed planthopper. Diptera includes: rice leafminer, Pingshui midge, fruit fly, mosquito.