Description: Blanchard's cricket frogs are a type of aquatic of tree frogs in North America. They have warty skin that is usually brown, gray, tan, or olive green, with darker bands of color on the legs. Their skin is also heavily vascularized, which allows substances to get into their bodies quickly, increasing their susceptibility to diseases. Due to this, handling with bare hands is unadvised. A dark, triangular mark between the eyes is frequently seen, and can be used to easily identify the species. Many different colors can be seen on certain specimen's backs, usually being either a dark red, orange, light green, or in rarer cases, a combination. They are small frogs, growing to 0.6 inches in length on average.
Habitat: Blanchard's cricket frogs are commonly found in wetlands, ponds, and/or near row crop agriculture.
Range: Range extends from southwestern South Dakota, southern Minnesota, central Wisconsin, southern Michigan, extreme southwestern Ontario (formerly), and northern Ohio south to southern Texas, part of immediately adjacent extreme northeastern Mexico, and southern Louisiana; west to northeastern Colorado (at least formerly) and eastern New Mexico. Documented range is west of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio River, except for small areas along the east side of the lower Mississippi River and south of the Ohio River in northern Kentucky.
Diet: Blanchard's cricket frogs are opportunistic feeders and eat throughout the day and night. Their diet consists of terrestrial and aquatic insects and other small invertebrates. Metamorphosed frogs eat various small invertebrates obtained near or in water. Larvae eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae, and plant tissue.
Reproduction: Lays clutch of up to a few hundred eggs in spring or summer, breeding earlier in south than in north. Aquatic larvae metamorphose in summer. Sexually mature in first year. Blanchard's cricket frogs hibernate during the cold months, beginning in late October, and emerging from hibernation in late March or early April. Breeding occurs from mid-May to mid-July. Females lay small clusters or single eggs. Tadpoles emerge in late summer. Breeding males have a metallic clicking call distinctive to the species.
Status: Although not listed at the federal level, Blanchard's cricket frogs are considered at risk in some states. It is an endangered species in Wisconsin, and is a threatened species in Michigan, due to a significant population decline since the late 1970s. Habitat loss, chemical contaminants, and competition for resources have been posited as reasons for this decline. Populations can still be found in the southern and western portions of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
This species appears to be significantly threatened primarily in the northern portion of its range. The reasons for the declines remain speculative but vegetation succession, climatic fluctuations, predation by native and exotic species, competition from other frog species, and water pollution caused by pesticides and/or other chemicals associated with agriculture are possibly significant
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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