The adults, similarly, scoop up flying insects in mid-air. Many species of dragonflies, as well as their daintier relatives the damselflies, are indicators of good water quality. Unlike their relatives the coyote and the wolf, foxes are solitary hunters, so they must rely on stealth to hunt small prey. Foxes' ears are so attuned to hearing the lower frequencies associated with the rustling or gnawing of mice and other small prey, they can usually pinpoint such movement to within inches, even under snow or in dense underbrush. Because these small prey tend to live in the lush cover of transition areas, foxes also tend to find their homes at the forest's edge.
All salamanders are carnivorous, eating insects, slugs, worms, and other invertebrates.
The aquatic hatchlings of some species are important predators of mosquito larvae. In the spring, it is breeding season, and so they are much more active in areas near water or with moist soil. Some actually spend a few weeks of the breeding season back in the water where they began life. They are incredibly silent in flight, however, aided by a sound-suppressing fuzz that covers their flight feathers, and are able to rapidly locate, attack, and kill the small mammals and birds that serve as their prey. All rights reserved.