Frog in an Orchid

In a 3" pot - Ruth Grant

Ruth Grant sent this picture of a tiny (½ inch) tree frog taking shelter in the stem of a native orchid in her yard. She discovered it while removing some protective mulch from around the orchid (not yet in bloom). It is either a gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor, or Cope's gray tree frog, Hyla chrysoscelis. They are often green when they are small.

One of my favorite sounds of night is the call of the gray tree frog. Heard singly it is identifiable, while in a chorus it can even drown out conversation. These calls filling the woods are frequently mistaken for crickets. Here is that memorable call.

Gray tree frogs may have a wide variety of colors from dark brown to green and can actually change color in response to their environment and activities They typically have some irregular dark blotches on the back like our friend in the picture. A large white spot which is present below each eye escaped the camera. The belly is white and the inside of its hind legs is yellow or orange-yellow with gray or black mottling.
The two species of gray tree frog, Hyla versicolor and H. chrysoscelis, are virtually identical in appearance and can only be identified in the field by differences in their call.

Starring me down - REK

Although they share the same terrain and habitat they have maintained separate species. Here's an amazing fact! In spite of their great similarity, H. versicolor has has only half as many chromosomes as H. chrysoscelis.

They feed on insects, spiders and other invertebrates, caught with a quick flick of their stick tongue.  They are in turn preyed upon by bullfrogs, wading birds, and snakes.  They produce a toxic skin secretion that can cause extreme discomfort to the eyes, lips, mucus lining of the nose, or open cuts and abrasions. Careful hand washing is advised for anyone after handling gray tree frogs and never kiss one as there is no record of one ever turning into a prince.

We recently lost a friend of nature, Dr. Bob Lovett. He created the Lovett Pinetum and was an active member of many conservation organizations. He had a long and complicated illness the last few years that made this story he sent me in 2019 all the more touching.
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Franklin “the Frog” - by Bob Lovett

 

He came three days after we first turned on our front yard waterfall. His croak was so loud that we could hear him from any room of the house, beginning each night at about 9:15. It took us two nights to locate him visually because he was so much smaller than his croak and he blended in with a variety of backgrounds.
The first photo was at midday on his favorite perch on the stone and mortar surface on the front of the house about 7 inches above ground and 5 inches from the nearest shallow water at the top of the waterfall.

The second picture is at the same location at night where he turns, without changing location, from coarse textured mottled gray to smooth dark green- black. As he became more familiar with us, he would croak with the flashlight trained on him..... his throat and sides would double in dimension just before he let out each roar.




The third photo is at night semi-emerged in the shallow water and croaking in his brown uniform matching the rock on which he is perched.

Then about 2-1/2 months after he came to us, he vanished.   Since we saw and talked to him every day and evening, we miss him greatly.  Prior to Franklin I never could have imagined falling in love with a frog.

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The next time you are outside among the trees on a sultry night, just picture a one to two inch wonder with the big voice. It might be Franklin, talking to Bob about nature.