Wood Frogs in Lust

a note from Jim:

Herpers, I am starting to see more Spotted Salamander egg-masses at higher elevations, but they are not done laying eggs yet. They enter pools and lay eggs over a period of about a month. Most of the Wood Frog egg masses here in the valley are old, but I am still seeing some new ones that have been added at higher elevations.

Speaking of Wood Frogs, male Wood Frogs do not discriminate when in a breeding group. Anything that appears to move on or near the surface of the water is grabbed in hopes that it will eventually lay eggs that the male Wood Frog can then fertilize. We have seen male Wood Frogs in amplexus with Spotted Salamanders, Green Frogs, drowned mice, and the tops of cattails that were bent over. We have even attracted them to our fingers in the water where they climbed on and grabbed our fingers tightly. However, until this week we have never seen this:

Wood Frog in amplexus with a fish. Duxbury, VT. Copyright (c) Jamie Harlow and used by permission.

Jamie Harlow was out with his girlfriend and her twin sons in Duxbury when they they took a video of this. I took a couple screen shots from it. I suspect/hope the Wood Frog let go in a few hours.

Jim Andrews

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