Chubby American Bullfrog

A few weeks ago I got a picture of an American Bullfrog that looks kind of chubby. This was taken in the rain garden just west of the Duke Farms parking lot, probably aided by the water level being a little low. This meant the dense vegetation that's usually there wasn't interfering with my line of sight. (FWIW the water level is even lower now.)

I don't know if the frog looked chubby because the location was providing an excellent supply of food, or if something more reproductive was going on. Female bullfrogs that are ready to lay eggs tend to look plumper. If this is a female preparing to lay eggs, she'll be selecting a handsome male bullfrog soon as her mate. They'll find a romantic spot in the water, he'll climb on top of her, and she'll release her eggs (up to 20,000 of them) directly into the water, and he'll release his sperm onto those eggs in the water (external fertilization). 

So next year I should see 20,000 bullfrogs in this spot, right? Not really. This fertilization method probably means a nontrivial percentage of the eggs won't even get fertilized. Even if there are no fish in the water (which is probably the case here), tadpole mortality is still extremely high. When they're small enough, arthropod predators no doubt take their toll. As they get bigger, they're on the menu of shorebirds, ducks, herons, turtles, snakes, and even other frogs. 

June 2, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 205022033, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Image
Some caterpillars are usually seen in large numbers (like Armyworm Moth caterpillars and Eastern Tent Caterpillars ), while most are more solitary. The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (more about them are here ) seem to be slightly social. I'll sometimes see them alone, but more often I'll see them in groups of 2-9 members. In the 1st picture below, you can see there is a clear size difference in some of these individuals. I'm almost certain the little one in the middle is in an earlier instar than the others (though they lack the colorful tufts of fuzz in their earliest instars). August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477945, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) In the picture below, it's clear that these caterpillars don't require a lot of personal space. August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477979, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Image
I believe this caterpillar to be a Copper Underwing [1]. At least the coloring and the dorsal hump (near the left end of the caterpillar) seem consistent with the Copper Underwing. These caterpillars are not what you'd consider picky eaters; my Caterpillars of Eastern North America describes their diet thusly: Many wooded plants including apple, basswood, blueberry, cherry chestnut, current, grape, greenbrier, hawthorn, hickory, lilac, maple, oak, poplar, raspberry, rhododendron, viburnum, Virginia creeper, and walnut. Wikipedia adds: Ash, privet, honeysuckle, rose, and service trees. That's a pretty wide range of trees and shrubs. One of the challenges of finding them is that they could be almost anywhere; the other challenges are: Their green coloring blends in pretty darned well with the average leaf. They have a habit of feeding underneath leaves, so they're probably not visible when looking down at their location. They have a tendency to move from leaf-to-leaf; if you
Read more

Eastern Pondhawks

Image
I'm going to try something different today with my Eastern Pondhawk pictures. I'm going to let ChatGPT do my blog today. (ChatGPT is an AI program that you can converse with in a pretty human way; an explanation of it is here .) Me:  Can you tell me something interesting about the Eastern Pondhawk? ChatGPT:  The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a dragonfly species that is native to North America. It is a medium-sized dragonfly, with a wingspan of about 3 inches, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, marshes, and ponds. One interesting characteristic of the Eastern Pondhawk is its mating behavior. Male Eastern Pondhawks are known for their territorial behavior and will defend their territory from other males. They will patrol their territory and will try to mate with any females that fly into their territory. Another interesting fact about the Eastern Pondhawk is that it is a fast flyer and is able to hover in midair. It is also an import
Read more