Yellow-banded poison dart frog

Unlike those of some of its relatives, the secretion from the skin of the yellow-banded poison dart frog is not particularly poisonous. However, the bright colours do act as a warning to predators. Frogs living in terrarium conditions do not develop poison at all, because a diet of fruit flies does not provide them with the raw material for the poison. In the wild, the frogs eat things like ants, millipedes, and spiders. Each frog has a unique yellow-and-black pattern.

The poison dart frogs are named after the practice of hunters using the frogs’ poison in their darts. There are around 200 species of poison dart frogs. They are all native to South and Central America. The greater the number of poison dart frogs that are adapted to different environments, the better the chances of survival for at least some of them in a changing environment.