Spring is a time when food is plentiful and the environmental temperatures are suitable for rearing young. In order to have young, the adults must reproduce. In order to find a mate or a suitable place to lay eggs, the adults must sometimes move over long distances. The birth of the young increases the numbers of the species in the habitat. The young then start to move and spread out to colonize the habitat.

During the winter, frogs either lie in the mud at the bottom of ponds or move into moss or holes in the ground where their bodies will remain damp. They pass the winter months in a dormant state.

In the spring, the adult frogs of a population will move towards water in order to mate. The frogs know instinctively to return to a specific body of water to lay their eggs. This instinct will cause the frogs to take risks to get to the water. Sometimes this means that the frog population will go from one side of a highway to another.

When they arrive at their destination male and female frogs call to one another. Each species has its own particular set of sounds. This ensures that individuals of the same species find each other, as there may be many different species of frogs and toads present at the same location.

The frogs mate in the water. The male moves onto the back of the female and holds her firmly by placing his front legs around her body. The male will stay in this position for a number of hours. When the female's eggs are released into the water the male releases his reproductive cells (sperm) at the same time.

Each fertilized egg immediately develops a layer of protective jelly around it. The developing tadpoles are visible through this jelly layer. After about ten days, the tadpoles start to wriggle out of the eggs.

The following series of drawings shows the development of the tadpole into a frog. This change is referred to as metamorphosis.

• Insects in Spring

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