Hurricane Helene was passing over as we searched for terrestrial amphibians. Despite the humidity, the air was chill, and the rain cold. My friend and I flipped log after log, searching for some sign of life other than fat earthworms and moss. When we least expected it, my friend found a tiny amphibian- a red eft.
With gloved hands, she gently moved the eft into a container with a moist paper towel, careful to not squish it. We admired its brilliant color- cheerful against the decaying leaves and muck. The newt was smaller than my thumb, its tail narrowing to a pencil tip in width. The newt curled up on the towel, as if to show off the red dots on its back.
Red efts are an interesting creature- part of the life cycle of red-spotted newts. These newts have four life stages: egg, larvae, eft, and adult. Adult female newts will lay eggs in submerged vegetation, which will hatch into eggs in 3-8 weeks. The incubation period depends on water quality. The better the water, the less time an egg needs to incubate.
After hatching, the newts will be larvae for 2-5 weeks. Yet again, the higher the water quality, the less time the larvae will need to metamorphose into an eft. An important factor now is food availability- the larvae will consume anything that can fit into their mouths. At this point in its life cycle, the newts have never touched land.
When the conditions are right, the larvae will metamorphose into an eft. Its external gills disappear and develop into lungs, and stubby legs erupt from the sides of its body. During the red eft stage, the newts do not need water to survive. Efts will haul themselves out of the water and into upland habitats. These habitats range from dry to wet, woodlands to meadows. When we were searching in the field, we were finding red efts under logs and flat rocks close to a stream.
Efts will remain as terrestrial sub-adults for 1 to 3 years. Yes, years! Efts will delay metamorphosis until conditions improve. Some newts have remained in the eft stage for 7 years. By remaining as efts, newts are able to survive drought in this manner. Until development into an adult, efts secrete a poison which makes them distasteful to predators. Their bright coloration serves as a warning: don’t eat me!
Once the eft has determined there is enough clean water and food, it will metamorphose to its final form. The adult newt is green and yellow with red spots, and lives in water. It has a long tail with a caudal fin, which helps it navigate in the water. After a complex mating ritual, the adult will lay eggs and begin a new generation of red-spotted newts.
I have yet to see a red-spotted newt in real life. I have seen many red efts- their bright bodies are easy to spot as they move from one habitat to another. I have seen red efts between the high outlook at Leonard Harrison State Park to the low streams of Bald Eagle. PARS has verified sightings of red-spotted newts in every county in Pennsylvania!
As the distribution of red-spotted newts is so wide, they are still at risk by changes in their habitat. Red-spotted newts absolutely need high-quality clean water to breed and grow. Protecting the health of Pennsylvania’s waterways will assist in protecting red-spotted newt populations. When looking for red efts, hunters must take utmost care to not crush the efts with their hands, logs, or rocks. It is best to look with eyes alone- try not to touch the efts at all! If it were not for our class, we would have left the newt my friend found completely alone.
After taking a few photographs, my friend released the eft back to its “home” log. It soon vanished into the leaves. Without a doubt, it would hide even deeper to escape detection from other curious people. I hoped it would live a long life, free of predation and making its final transition from land to water.
Works Cited
Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Red-Spotted Newt.” Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, Connecticut’s Official State Website, 11 Oct. 2016, https://www.portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Red-Spotted-Newt. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Poston, Jason, et al. “Red-Spotted Newt.” PA Herps, https://www.paherps.com/herps/salamanders/eastern_newt/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
autumn's country diary 