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Interesting Facts About American Green Tree Frogs
The American green tree frog is a staple of summer nights in the U.S. South, where its groaning call echoes through countless swamps, forests, fields, and backyards. Yet even for many people who share their habitats, hear them sing, and sometimes see them illuminated by their porch lights, these frogs are easily overlooked and severely undervalued.
1. American Green Tree Frogs Have a Wide Range
American green tree frogs can adapt to a variety of habitats, as long as they have a few key resources available. They inhabit the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Delaware to South Florida to South Texas, and inland as far as Oklahoma, Missouri, and southern Illinois.
The American green tree frog is the official state amphibian for both Louisiana and Georgia, two states where it is widespread.
2. They Spend Ample Time Near Water Despite Being Arboreal
As their name suggests, green tree frogs are largely arboreal (tree-dwelling). Yet while they spend much of their lives in trees, they also need clean water, especially during the breeding season. The species is commonly found near ponds, lakes, streams, marshes, and other wetlands, where they seem to prefer habitats with lots of floating plants (like lily pads and duckweed), grasses, and cattails.
3. They Can 'Honk' 75 Times Per Minute
Green tree frogs are sometimes known as "bell frogs" because of their resounding mating call, which is an abrupt nasal honk or bark repeated up to 75 times per minute.2
During the breeding season, roughly March to October, males often congregate to sing from weedy, watery habitats, typically perched on floating vegetation or other plants within about two inches of the surface.3 This mating call is distinct from the calls they use to defend territory or announce rainfall and can be heard by females from at least 300 yards away.
4. They Provide Free Pest Control
American green tree frogs are extremely lovable—and not just because of their bright green hue or their charming honk. They're also natural predators to public enemy No. 1: mosquitos.
Green tree frogs are insectivores, so their survival depends on their ability to find enough flies, mosquitoes, and other small insects to eat. This also means that insecticides are dually dangerous to them. Not only are they directly toxic, sometimes killing frogs with alarming speed, but they can also indirectly threaten the amphibians by choking off their food supply.4
5. American Green Tree Frogs Aren't Always Green
The skin of an American green tree frog is usually lime green, but it can vary in color depending on the animal's activity. A green tree frog may look olive green, brown, or gray when cool and resting, then return to its vivid green once it's warm and active again.
The frogs also have a white, yellow, or sometimes iridescent stripe along each side of their bodies. The length of these stripes varies among populations, and some green tree frogs don't have them at all. Some also have yellow or golden flecks overlaying the green color of their backs.
And as always have a chilled day from the Viking
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