Conium maculatum disturbed ground. It is used as a food plant by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including silver-ground carpet. The poison hemlock moth ("Agonopterix alstroemeriana") feeds on the plant during its larval stage. "A. alstroemeriana" has been widely used as a biological control agent for "C. maculatum". Poison hemlock flourishes in the spring, when most other forage is gone. All plant parts are poisonous, but once the plant is dried, the poison is greatly reduced, although not gone completely. The plant is poisonous to animals that graze on it. "Conium" contains the piperidine alkaloids coniine, N-methylconiine, conhydrine, pseudoconhydrine and gamma-coniceine
Mimic poison frog other "Ranitomeya" species, "R. imitator" has a mild toxicity compared to other poison dart frogs. It produces the potent pumiliotoxin B, but its small size limits the amount of poison it can secrete. Like other poison dart frogs, it does not produce toxin in captivity. It probably gains its poison from consuming toxic insects or other invertebrates in the wild. Frogs of the related genus "Phyllobates" may derive their toxins from local melyrid beetles of genus "Choresine". "Ranitomeya imitator" and related frogs exhibit a degree of parental care, with the female laying feeder eggs for the tadpoles to eat. This