Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Important Information​

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.

Cal​​l

• Rapid clicking, like two marbles being tapped together.  Similar to a Chorus Frog’s call.

Breed​ing

• 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.

Devel​​opment

• 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.