A Motivating Herd of Squirrel Frogs

I’ve really neglected this blog the last few months… There’s really no excuse for the lack of posts; I’ve just been tied-up with work, extra work (thanks for nothing BP) and personal commitments. In an effort to get things rolling again, I thought that posting a couple of snapshots would be a good idea. Small steps…

Despite a recent malaise brought about by incidents in the Gulf of Mexico, I was briefly inspired this weekend when I discovered a couple hundred juvenile frogs in my backyard. Yeah, a COUPLE HUNDRED!

Though, I’m not exactly certain where the deed went down (no ponds or puddles around), my best guess is that about 45-days ago (tadpole-to-froglet growth time) a couple (perhaps a few) of the squirrel frogs that reside in the rafters of my porch got “frisky” (i.e. mated). The result: hundreds of these guys in my yard:

Squirrel frogs (Hyla squirella) are common throughout the Southeastern United States. They’re terrestrial tree frogs that breed and undergo early development in water (puddles, ponds, ditches, etc…). Once sufficiently mature to undertake travel, they move to forested areas (or the exteriors of human dwellings) to live as adults. Eventually, the upland dwelling adult frogs return to water to reproduce and the cycle starts anew.

As another quick natural history note, Hyla squirella are at least bimodel when it comes to sexual selection. Like many frog species, the females home-in on distant males by converging on the sound of the male’s song; but, in addition to sound, female squirrel frogs also select mates based on appearance.

Squirrel frog in rafters of porch

Males with low-frequency and energetic calls are preferred by the females, but the females also consider the size of the yellow stripe that runs down the male’s side. The male’s yellow stripe may give some indication as to his overall health.