Spring Peeper
| Class: Amphibia:
Amphibians |
Diet: Insects |
| Order:
Anura: Frogs and Toads |
| Size: body:2
- 3 cm (3/4 - 1 1/4 in) |
| Family: Hylidae:
Treefrogs |
Conservation Status:
Non-threatened |
| Scientific Name:
Hyla crucifer |
Habitat: woodland,
near ponds, swamps |
| Range:
S.E. Canada; U.S.A., south to central Florida, west to Texas |
 One
of the most abundant frogs in eastern North America, the spring peeper's
song does indeed herald the arrival of spring in the north of its range.
This agile little frog can climb into trees and bushes, using its well-developed
adhesive toe pads, and jump over 17 times its body length. It feeds mainly
on small spiders and insects, including flying insects, which it leaps
into the air to catch. Courting males call from trees over-hanging water,
making a bell-like chorus. The male frog climbs onto a female, who enters
water and lays her 800 to 1,000 eggs, one at a time, onto stems of aquatic
vegetation. He fertilizes the eggs, which hatch within a few days. The
tadpoles metamorphose about 3 months later and leave the pond.
 
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