Species
Southern cricket frog
Acris gryllus
A tiny, warty frog of southern ponds whose call sounds like marbles clicking together.
Photo Patrick Coin ( Patrick Coin ) (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5 (opens in a new tab)
At a glance
- Size
- About 1.5 to 3 cm long
- Habitat
- Ponds, marshes, ditches and swamps
- Diet
- Small insects
- In Georgia
- The Coastal Plain and lower Piedmont
- Voice
- Rapid clicks like two marbles tapped together
- Rabies vector
- No
Identification
- Key marks
- Tiny; warty; a dark triangle between the eyes; a sharp, dark stripe on the back of the thigh
- Told apart from
- Northern cricket frog, which is stockier with a ragged thigh stripe
- Where to look
- At the water's edge, leaping in long jumps
Behaviour
Cricket frogs are among the smallest frogs and can leap many times their body length. They are active by day and night and call through much of the year in the south.
Why they matter
They eat small insects and are food for snakes, birds and fish.
Reproduction and lifecycle
Eggs — Laid singly or in small groups on plants
Hatching — In a few days
Tadpoles — Change into frogs in 6 to 12 weeks
Maturity — Within a year
Lifespan — About a year
Calling — Spring and summer
Living around people
- It is harmless and rarely leaves the water's edge.
Misconceptions
- Clicking at a pond is insects. It is often cricket frogs.
Related species
Seasonal activity
When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Breeding | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Active nests | Jan: no | Feb: no | Mar: no | Apr: no | May: no | Jun: no | Jul: no | Aug: no | Sep: no | Oct: no | Nov: no | Dec: no |
| Notes | Active on mild days | Active | Calling | Breeding | Breeding | Breeding | Breeding | Young | Active | Active | Active on mild days | Sheltering in cold |
Where it lives
Recorded in 9 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.
If you found one
Answer a few questions and you will get a specific answer for what you are looking at.
I found an animal