Saturday, October 26, 2013

Tree Frog

While putting my plants into the greenhouse for the winter, I found 2 of these little frogs hiding among the leaves of my elkhorn ferns. The distinctive X on their backs made them easy to identify online. They are spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) and the males make a whistle-like call in the very early spring. Some might mistake their calls for crickets, but crickets only call in the late summer and fall. they live in wooded areas near water and mate and lay eggs in water on underwater twigs.
Spring peepers eat small insects so I welcome them into my greenhouse, along with anoles, toads, and garden spiders. They hibernate in winter in colder areas and can even survive being partially frozen. They won't have that trouble (hopefully) in the greenhouse. It will be like a winter spent in Florida.
Yes, that appears to be either an insect or a spider to the right on the picture. Maybe just lunch.

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