150 
THE ESSEX NATURALIST. 
found them in the company of frogs in such hibernacula as mole- 
runs, I do not think they ever join the frogs which sleep under 
water. A sleeping toad has the eyes tightly closed, and it can 
stand a good few degrees of frost, as I noticed in an animal which 
wintered under a broken plant pot in the garden. Indoors, cap¬ 
tive toads, like frogs, often remain active throughout the winter. 
I cannot find in my notebook any actual dates for the first 
appearance of the smallest “ one year old ” toads ; but I record 
the next size (which, quite provisionally, I have long called the 
" two year old ”) in the Forest on the 27th April. The “ two 
year old ” individuals seem far more numerous than the next 
smaller size, and they are, I think, later to appear in spring. 
I have never seen either a “ one year old ” or a “ two year old ,r 
in the water at any season of the year. 
As soon as the eggs are laid (say after the middle of April) 
the adult toads, with the exception of a few laggards, vanish 
from the ponds ; but, I have noticed for some years, they do not 
become evident on land until after an interval of two or three 
weeks. 
From May to October toads may be seen in all parts of the 
Forest, often a mile or so from the nearest breeding pond. When 
crawling over the dead leaves a toad makes more noise than a 
fox crossing the same spot, as we have observed on more than 
one occasion. Without doubt, the reptile must destroy a great 
number of the defoliating caterpillars as the latter are preparing 
to pupate. 
Sometimes, even away from towns or villages, we meet with 
toads which have lost an eye ; and such victims are numerous 
among the colonies living in town gardens or in confinement. 
A good deal has been written on this matter, and the general 
opinion is that the damage is caused by a dipterous fly which 
lays its eggs on the skin or in the nostrils of the reptile. The 
larvae eat their way to the brain, or, missing their way, come to 
grief in the orbit of the eye, in which case the toad recovers. 
The particular insect responsible has been named Lucilia bufoni- 
vora by a Russian naturalist, but perhaps special students of 
the diptera are not prepared to recognise this as a true species. 
In captivity, when toads are fed on bluebottles, it is only too 
common for the eggs in a gravid female fly to hatch out in the 
stomach and destroy the reptile. This is the more likely to 
