On the hunt for frogspawn
YOU never see youngsters collecting frogspawn nowadays. When we were young we spent the last weeks of March and the early weeks of April searching for the jelly-like masses of frogspawn in shallow ponds and tiny streams, writes Tom Gillespie.
With the children off school for the foreseeable future, due to the coronavirus lockdown, maybe hunting frogspawn and tadpoles – and watching as they evolve in their natural habitat - might get them out in the fresh air and prevent them becoming goggle-eyed from over use of their tablets.
My first memory of locating the spawn was when we lived at No. 4 Spencer Street in Castlebar. The back gardens stretched down to the Paddock where the Telecom building was erected at Pavilion Road and adjoining Mrs. Simms’ Spencer Park property.
A tiny stream divided the properties and continued under the road and along the back of the old tennis pavilion.
It was here that were found the frogspawn, which we gathered in jam jars. A piece of twine was tied around the top of the jar and looped to form a handle, so we could carry it in comfort.
Later, when we moved to Marian Row, we continued the practice and there were many ideal spots to find the tiny eggs.
Around now croaking male frogs are active in ponds, nosily trying to attract willing females. When a pair comes together the male climbs on to his partner’s back and holds her firmly with his forelegs. They float about together like this for quite a long time, during which he fertilises her eggs.
She deposits the fertilised spawn in the water while he is still clutching her, and he does not let go until she has finished laying. The frogspawn then floats away.
A single female may lay a staggering 3,000 eggs, which can be seen as little black specks in the jelly. The next stage in the eggs’ life follows when they start turning into tadpoles. These will take three months to become small, finished frogs.
When we collected the spawn we kept it in the jam jar outside on the back window, changing the water every so often. We usually got them to tadpole stage when their legs developed and the novelty wore off and we released them back into the pond or stream from where we took the spawn.
In those days in the 1950s there were a lot more suitable habitats for frogs than there are in the urban areas today.
I looked up a guide on how to care for frogspawn and tadpoles.
Unpolluted pond water or rain water are ideal for frogspawn. Do not put frog spawn into tap water unless it has been allowed to stand for about three days. The water should be changed at least twice a week to avoid contamination.
The water temperature is very important - between 15°C and 20°C is the best temperature for tadpole development. Pollution can be a problem if the temperature rises above 20°C.
Never put frogspawn or tadpoles from water at one temperature straight into water at a different temperature. Death is likely to result!
If you want to transfer frog spawn from a small container into a larger container, a pond for example, then stand the small container complete with frogspawn inside the pond. When both water temperatures are the same, which may take a few hours, then at last you can release the frogspawn into the pond. It is most important that the frogspawn or tadpoles do not over-crowd the containers at any stage.
When the tadpoles first hatch, a quantity of fresh pond weed at this stage is very important; partly as food and partly as support for young tadpoles. Nettle powder, made from dried stinging nettle leaves, can also be fed to the young tadpoles.
When tadpoles reach the leg stage they become carnivorous - meat eaters. They will eat each other unless you provide meat for them. Small pieces of liver should be carefully suspended on a piece of string into the water.
The meat should be changed every day to avoid polluting the water. Fish fry food for livebearers, available from aquarium and pet shops, can also be fed sparingly to the tadpoles at this stage.
When tadpoles reach the leg stage, make sure that stones are placed at the edge of the pond in such a way that the young frogs, when they develop, can climb clear of the water to breathe.
The whole process of change - from tadpole to young frog – takes about 12 weeks.
Many years ago, my late sister Mary got a box of frozen frogs legs. We served then up at a christening of one of our grandchildren, passing them off as chicken, which they resembled in taste.
Later, I had them in a French restaurant, Monte Martre, in Calle James, Puerto del Carmen, in Lanzarote - a location where I also devoured escargots - a dish consisting of cooked edible land snails.
They are often served as an hors d’oeuvre and cooked in garlic butter. They come in a large shell and you have to pick them out with a special implement. Really, all you taste is the garlic.
The first day I had them there, a young boy sitting across from us kept pucking his mother, as he pointed at me, telling her I was eating dirty snails. When I finished the course I called him across and presented him with one of the empty shells, which he took away trophy-like.