Biology

The green and golden bell frog is unusual in that it is often also active during the day. They breed in the warmer months from October to March (4). During the breeding season, males tend to call whilst partially submerged in the water (4) and females lay 3,000 to 10,000 eggs in gelatinous masses that initially float, but sink up to 12 hours after laying. Two days later the tadpoles hatch out and on average they will have fully metamorphosed into young froglets after a further two months (3), although the development period depends on the temperature (2). The voracious adults have a very broad diet, including insects and other frogs, even of the same species (4). The tadpoles feed on detritus, algae and bacteria (3). Natural predators include wading birds and snakes, and the tadpoles are taken by tortoises, eels and other fish (2) as well as a range of invertebrate predators (7).