Blanchard's Cricket Frog

Characteristics

This rough-skinned treefrog may be greenish brown, yellow, red or black. It has a dark triangular patch between the eyes and relatively short legs. Adults typically reach two to three centimetres. The breeding call is a rasping or clicking sound, like two pebbles or stones being struck together. Listen to the call of the Blanchard’s cricket frog(Acris crepitans) (courtesy of Adopt-A-Pond Wetland Conservation Programme).

Northern cricket frog © Joe Crowley

Similar Species

Other treefrogs in the Blanchard’s cricket frog’s range are the spring peeper, the western chorus frog and the gray treefrog. The spring peeper has a dark X-shaped blotch on the back. The western chorus frog has three dark continuous or broken lines down the back. The gray treefrog has a light spot with a dark border under each eye and bright orange or yellow inner thighs. The cricket frog appears to have “warts” like a toad but lacks the large parotoid glands that toads have behind each eye. The clicking call of the Blanchard’s cricket frog may be difficult to distinguish from that of some marsh birds.

Northern cricket frog © Scott Gillingwater

Habitat

Blanchard’s cricket frogs are usually found along the edges of permanent ponds but have also been known to occur in natural marshes, deep drainage ditches and abandoned quarries. Though classed as a treefrog, the Blanchard’s cricket frog is not known to climb into trees or bushes.

The Blanchard’s cricket frog is covered in the Ontario Reptile and Amphibian Atlas publication

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Beaver River, Uxbridge © Sean Marshall

Biology

The Blanchard’s cricket frog does not begin to breed until midsummer. Individual females lay up to 400 eggs, which hatch in three to four days. Eggs and tadpoles develop in the shallow water of ponds, marshes, ditches, slow streams, springs or rain pools. Tadpoles metamorphose into adults five to 10 weeks after hatching, typically from August to early September.

The tadpoles of this species eat suspended matter, organic debris, algae and plant tissue. Adult cricket frogs eat small insects and other terrestrial invertebrates. Individuals rarely live more than one or two years. These frogs overwinter in leaf litter or just under the soil surface and may hibernate communally.

Other names: northern cricket frog, Acris crepitans

Northern cricket frog © Scott Gillingwater

Threats and Trends

The cause of the decline of the Blanchard’s cricket frog during the 1970s is unknown, but habitat loss and degradation, as well as pesticide contamination, are known to be problems within its range.

Northern cricket frog © Ontario Nature

Current Status and Protection

The Blanchard’s cricket frog is currently listed as Extirpated under the Ontario Endangered Species Act, 2007 and Endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act. The species has been designated as a Specially Protected Amphibian under the Ontario Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which offers some protection to individuals and their habitat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the global status of the Blanchard’s cricket frog as Least Concern. The species’ status was last confirmed in August 2016.

Learn more about reptile and amphibian conservation and what you can do to help these species on our Reptile and Amphibian Stewardship page

What You Can Do

Report a sighting
Get involved in reptile and amphibian conservation on your property, on the road and in your community
Donate to support reptile and amphibian conservation
Watch for reptiles and amphibians on the road
Don’t release pet reptiles and amphibians into the wild
Read more about the Blanchard’s cricket frog in the Ontario Reptile and Amphibians Atlas publication.