I Only Have Eyes for You

When it comes to Frogs in the Midwest, one of the most often heard and easiest to find is the Green Frog (Rana clamitans melanota). Like most frogs, from dusk to dawn lots of calling can be heard and if stumbled upon, this common frog will sometimes stay put for nice looks. They have what I view as one of the more classic looks for a frog. One of the distinguishing marks on a Green Frog is the tympanum (round spot behind the eye) which is actually larger than the eye in males.

A more striking stance this common frog can display is the top of its head with eyes popping just above the water. When seen from above, the look is pretty standard but when looking at the level of the frog it completely changes the view and adds quite a striking appearance to this large aquatic frog (good beginning tip to nature photography is to get on the level of the subject you are photographing). Typically found in and around lakes, rivers, and ponds they are often seen at water’s edge waiting for prey items to come their way while also trying to avoid predation by predators like dabbling ducks, herons, and some raptors. They feed mostly on aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates such as beetles, spiders, flies, grasshoppers, and caterpillars but they are opportunistic. Being able to adapt opportunistically is probably why this frog has done well even through areas of habitation by humans.

Many homes that have water features in gardens will typically be visited by a Green Frog from time to time. However, watch out for Great-blue Herons as they may stumble across the feature and see it as a buffet!

Interestingly enough, during colder months and throughout most of the winter Green Frogs hibernate underground in moist soils or underwater. During these cold times, all we can do is dream of warm summer evenings in July and August where the droning Green Frog serenades us to sleep each night with its banjo twang.

Tags: Amphibians, frogs, Insects-and-Spiders, Midwest, postaday 2011, Reptiles-and-Amphibians

This entry was posted on Friday, August 19th, 2011 at 7:02 am and is filed under Entries by Josh Haas. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.