Apparently the key is to tickle open the cloacal sphincter.
After getting swallowed by a frog, [a water scavenger beetle] can scuttle down the amphibian’s gut and force it to poop — emerging slightly soiled, but very much alive... A whopping 90 percent of the beetles they swallowed made it out the other end alive, all within six hours of being gulped down...Beetles of other species didn’t fare quite as well and were excreted as corpses after a couple days in amphibio. Dead Regimbartia took days too, hinting that their living counterparts were actively engineering their great escapes...Dr. Sugiura thinks Regimbartia beetles may use their legs to brace themselves and crawl through the gut, which can stretch several inches — an arduous journey for a four- or five-millimeter-long beetle. When they reach the end of that tunnel, the insects may be able to tickle open the cloacal sphincter, the ring of muscle that drawstrings the frog’s rear end shut, expelling themselves in a flood of feces.
You learn something every day. More details at The New York Times.
Related: When a Murder Hornet becomes a Tasty Meal (with video).
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