No. 516] THE AMERICAN TOAD 



1VS 



Toads lay 3,900 to 15,800 eggs at one laying. 

 The eggs hatch in two to six days, depending upon the 

 temperature. 



Metamorphosis takes place in thirty-two to two hundred 

 days. 



On an average the tadpoles double their weight seven 

 times in thirty-two days. 



The tadpoles are omnivorous. 



Toads feed entirely on animal matter. No food is 

 taken unless it shows signs of life. 



Toads refuse no insects, worms or slugs which they can 

 swallow. 



On an average toads feed only once in a day and a half. 

 The average amount eaten in a day by a toad is 1.12 

 grams. 



About 80 per cent, of the toad's food consists of harm- 

 ful insects. 



Toads may be active from the latter part of March to 

 the middle of November. 



Toads are chiefly nocturnal. 



Toads go into the ground to pass the winter. 



The greater per cent, of those that do not get below the 

 frost-line perish. 



In the strictest sense of the term, toads do not hibernate 

 if kept in a warm place. 



Toads feed throughout the winter if kept warm, al- 

 though eating comparatively little. 



No preparation is made for the winter other than bury- 

 ing to a depth below the frost line. 



Some toads do not hibernate until after the middle of 

 November. 



The eggs are seldom eaten by other animals. 



Great numbers of tadpoles are destroyed by insects and 

 insect larvse. 



Birds, fishes and reptiles feed upon tadpoles. 



A large per cent, of the eggs and larvae are killed by the 

 lowering of the water. 



Toads are destroyed, chiefly, by all classes of verte- 



