Acris crepitans blanchardi
NEVER pick up an amphibian with your bare hands! This could damage their delicate skin.
Blanchard's Cricket Frog is a Threatened Species.
They have only been found at two locations in Michigan.
Identifying Features
- 1 inch long; brown or grayish warty-skinned. May have a dark triangle between its eyes.
- Once common, this frog has experienced notable population declines for nearly 30 years and is presently restricted to small, localized colonies.
- Inhabit open edges of permanent waters.
- Spend a lot of time floating on algae mats and water lily leaves.
- Mud flats and muddy or sandy shorelines are also favored.
- Diurnal during cool weather.
- Active throughout day and night in warmer months.
- Winter is spent beneath shoreline debris or burrowed into soil near water.
Call
- Rapid clicking, like two marbles being tapped together. Similar to a Chorus Frog’s call.
Breeding
- Prefer warmer temperatures and do not breed until late spring or early summer.
- Occurs from mid to late May through early July.
- 200-400 eggs laid either free-floating or attached to submerged twigs or plants.
Development
- Eggs hatch within a few days.
- Tadpoles metamorphose to frogs in 5-10 weeks.
- Sexual maturity in 1 year.
- Seldom survive longer than one or two breeding seasons.