Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Blanchard's cricket frogs are a type of aquatic tree frog 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 (1.5 cm) in length on average. 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. The subspecies is named after Frank N. Blanchard, a noted American herpetologist. The frogs are most commonly found in slow-moving or stagnant bodies of water, such as in streams and wetlands, where reproduction takes place. Only a few survive until the second breeding season. …

Blanchard's cricket frogs are found from northeastern Mexico to South Dakota, east to Ohio and West Virginia. The southeastern limits of their range are generally along the Ohio River and the Mississippi River. A. blanchardi has been recorded in parts of western Mississippi.