Spring
2007
Vol. 15 No. 1 |
"He who plants a tree plants
a hope" - Lucy Larcom
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In this issue... Reflections from the President Homes for Wood Ducks - Nature Area Is a Toad a Frog? How to Create a Wildlife-Friendly Backyard Three Generations of Volunteers Upcoming Events... April
1 4 April
22
Wish
List |
Is
a Toad a Frog? The answer
is: Yes.
One can easily identify these little amphibians. They are known by their dry, warty skin and swollen bumps on their heads. These bumps are called paratoid glands and contain an irritating substance used to ward off predators, but it is not harmful to humans. Toads are nocturnal. They sleep during the day and feed at night. Be happy if you find one in your garden, because they can eat from 50 to 100 insects at a time, which can add up to a few thousand per month. A toads diet consists of flies. cutworms, mosquitoes, slugs, and many more bugs. Toads generally live on land, although the females return to the water in the spring and lay thousands of eggs in gelatin-like strings up to four feet long. Tadpoles hatch from the eggs and live in the water until they develop legs and move onto land. Toads can live 4 to 15 years and sometimes longer. In the tall they hibernate underground. Just be careful when you dig up your garden in the spring and don't get scared when a little, ugly, brown thing jumps from the shovel To encourage
toads to take up residence in your garden, provide them with a little
shelter and water and avoid using chemical pesticides. Since toads drink
through their skin, keep a shallow container, filled with water, close
to the ground so that a toad can easily hop in and a broken clay pot nearby
will do nicely as a home. Good luck! |