hey... 1 lot of frogspawn this morning, in the pond Officiallly
spring... though it's blooming cold still

Wow, we had frogspawn here weeks ago and it's all hatched now. The taddies
are even growing legs! I'm in Devon.
Mel.


"Pam Cook" wrote in message
...
hey... 1 lot of frogspawn this morning, in the pond Officiallly
spring... though it's blooming cold still

On 19/3/08 17:38, in article
, "Mel"
wrote:

Wow, we had frogspawn here weeks ago and it's all hatched now. The taddies
are even growing legs! I'm in Devon.
Mel.


Must depend on whereabouts in Devon. Ours are well formed and heaving about
but not hatched.

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

In article ,
says...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:48:34 -0000, "Pam Cook"
wrote:

hey... 1 lot of frogspawn this morning, in the pond Officiallly
spring... though it's blooming cold still

I can tell frogspawn from toadspawn, but what does newtspawn look like
(assuming it exists), and is there a simple way of distinguishing
toadpoles from frogpoles and newtpoles? I as because a few days ago I
saw a lot of almost hatched 'spawn in a small natural pond, but today
there was little sign of anything except a small longish tailed
creature about three inches long that wriggled into the mud and I
didn't get a good look at it but assume it was a newt.


Newts lay eggs individually and the tadpoles have obvious feathery gills
on the out side and are fawn in colour not black and start life a lot
smaller and more difficult to see. Adult newts feast on tadpoles of frogs
and toads and even their tadpoles will tackle stuff that as big as
themselves
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:48:34 -0000, "Pam Cook"
wrote:

hey... 1 lot of frogspawn this morning, in the pond Officiallly
spring... though it's blooming cold still

I can tell frogspawn from toadspawn, but what does newtspawn look like
(assuming it exists), and is there a simple way of distinguishing
toadpoles from frogpoles and newtpoles? I as because a few days ago I
saw a lot of almost hatched 'spawn in a small natural pond, but today
there was little sign of anything except a small longish tailed
creature about three inches long that wriggled into the mud and I
didn't get a good look at it but assume it was a newt.

Newts lay individual eggs, about 1.5 mm dia, clear, with small grey-black
centres. They hide the individual eggs within the leaves of various
pondweeds, Elodea being a favourite habitat. Newt tadpoles are very small
and skinny when hatched, usually pale brown and less than 1/4" long. They
develop legs quite quickly although so small, but keep their gills for a
long time. Even by September they may be only 1" long, and they will
probably leave the water then to overwinter under stones or in walls,
returning to the water in the spring to continue their growth. Three inches
is about the right length for an adult newt.

Frog tadpoles are very black, but I seem to recall that toad tadpoles are a
paler, brown colour.

HTH.

someone

"Charlie Pridham" wrote in message
T...

snip

Adult newts feast on tadpoles of frogs
and toads and even their tadpoles will tackle stuff that as big as
themselves

It is amusing to dig up earthworms about 1-1/2" long and drop them into
water in front of a newt - the newt can never resist and will struggle for a
long time to get the whole worm down. I've even seen two newts eating the
same worm from each end and having a fight when they reach the middle.

someone

In message , Mel
writes
Wow, we had frogspawn here weeks ago and it's all hatched now. The taddies
are even growing legs! I'm in Devon.
Mel.

First frog spawn seen here in S Devon on 23 February, first tadpoles
spotted 5 March. No sign of any legs as yet but this would be unusual
as the legs do not usually begin to appear until several weeks after
hatching. Whilst your tadpoles with legs could well be a noteworthy
exception to the rule, it could be that they are over-wintered tadpoles
from last year particularly if your pond is in a shaded position
resulting in less light reaching the pond or there was insufficient food
available. I noticed a couple of large tadpoles and a newt eft in our
pond during early February that were clearly from last years spawning.

--
Robert

In message , robert
writes
In message , Mel
writes
Wow, we had frogspawn here weeks ago and it's all hatched now. The taddies
are even growing legs! I'm in Devon.
Mel.

First frog spawn seen here in S Devon on 23 February, first tadpoles
spotted 5 March. No sign of any legs as yet but this would be unusual
as the legs do not usually begin to appear until several weeks after
hatching. Whilst your tadpoles with legs could well be a noteworthy
exception to the rule, it could be that they are over-wintered tadpoles
from last year particularly if your pond is in a shaded position
resulting in less light reaching the pond or there was insufficient
food available. I noticed a couple of large tadpoles and a newt eft in
our pond during early February that were clearly from last years spawning.

Our first sighting of toad spawn this morning.
--
Robert