March 13, 2025

They have partied and now there are eggmasses in my vernal pool. These two clumps are the eggs of Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). They contain from 1,000 to 3,000 eggs each. They hatch 9 to 30 days later, in part depending on the temperature of the water. Warmer water encouraging hatching more quickly. They stay at the tadpole stage of development for 8 to 12 weeks when they will metamorphose into tiny versions of Wood Frogs. In the wild the Wood Frogs life span about 3 years.

And also in the vernal pool are the eggmasses of Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum). Not as many as the Wood Frogs but easy to tell the difference and easy to spot. Each eggmass contains 30 to 250 eggs. These eggs take from 20 to 60 days to hatch. Then they become, not tadpoles but larvae. In 2 to 4 months they’ll metamorphose into terrestrial juvenile salamanders, living within about 1/2 mile of their vernal pool. Adults can live 20 years or more.

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