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Froggy frolic

Posted by Erika Barthelmess,
North Country explorer from Canton, NY
April 15, 2015

On my dog walk last night on the SLU cinder trail along the Grasse, we encountered a loud chorus of both wood frogs and peepers doing their thing. I came back with mud boots a bit later and waded into the middle of the small seasonal pond. The water seemed almost to be boiling with frog activity in one spot. In the first picture, see how many frogs you can count. As I got closer, all singing stopped, but I just stood near a huge collection of recently spawned eggs. The second picture is two frogs in amplexus, the term for the behavior in which the male (on top) clings to the back of the female (on bottom) so that when she deposits her eggs, he can wash the eggs with sperm so as to be daddy in a process called "external fertilization." Just below and in front of the pair you can make out some of the eggs laid by earlier breeders. The last photo is just one of the many frogs I caught swimming around. If you've ever wondered if frogs get mosquito bites, according to photo #2, the answer is yes (I saw several other frogs being bitten as well. I escaped with narry a bite.).

Comments

Jacob Malcomb

Nice photos. Interesting to know that frogs get mosquito bites. Unfortunate to know that mosquitoes have also emerged already.

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