Northern Leopard Frog

Northern Leopard Frogs, also called meadow or grass frogs, are bright grass-green with oval black spots. They spend a lot of time foraging in grassy places during the summer. You may see them in old fields, meadows, grassy-sedge woods roads and grassy roadside ditches. Juveniles are often seen resting on sphagnum moss at the edge of roadside ponds.

Egg Mass

Frog crossing road

Leopard Frogs emerge from underwater hibernation in spring. From mid-April to mid-May the males rest, with limbs spread out, on the surface in the shallows of ponds and vegetated coves of lakes. Their breeding call is a long rattling snore followed by several rapid grunts. Females lay about 3000 eggs in a loose oval mass in shallow water. Newly hatched tadpoles stay in a close group for some time. The tadpoles develop rapidly and change to frogs during July and August.

Albino

Leopard Frogs eat many insects and other invertebrates. Since they spend so much time in grassy places, they eat a lot of agricultural pest insects. Juveniles eat aquatic insects.

Adults return to aquatic habitats during the autumn to hibernate.