The Wood Frog

At the recent Ohio Reptile Research Conference, several of my friends were sharing their early spring amphibian adventures.  Their stories of calling frogs and migrating salamanders made me long for life in rural Ohio.  And then I got to thinking-  although there aren't many breeding amphibian populations in my native Franklin County, perhaps I could find could places to see and here spring breeding amphibians in Alum Creek State Park, just five miles or so north of our home.  Alum Creek surrounds a large reservoir, and there are plenty of low lying flat woods around it.  Last Saturday, I started on my quest, and sure enough, it wasn't long before I found several large and publicly accessible pools capable of supporting breeding amphibian populations.

Since I was doing this in the day, I didn't see all that many things, but I heard several calling spring peepers and chorus frogs, and even one wood frog.  After a great deal of searching, I managed to spot this male frog calling from a perch on a dead branch.  After I came too close, the frog jumped into the water but resurfaced quickly, allowing for a quick photographic opportunity.

For more about the amphibians of Ohio, visit www.ohioamphibians.com, a resource coordinated by Greg Lipps and Jeff Davis.

Tom

The Black-Horned Tree Cricket

I take a ton of photos of plants and animals. Sometimes, I have no idea what I'm photographing, but I'm always fascinated to see first hand something I haven't seen before. Back in October of 2006, Megan and I were camping at Alum Creek State Park. It was fall, and the goldenrods and asters were in full bloom. I noticed many different types of insects living amongst the goldenrod jungle, including this fascinating creature.

 

I never new what it was. Boy was it cool, and boy did I wish I had a better photograph, but it remained nameless. Until tonight. At the library, I picked up the copy of "The Songs of Insects" by Lang Elliot and Wil Hershberger, mainly for its CD of insect songs. Megan and I checked out our stuff and headed over to the gym, and I tried reading the new book as I walked on a treadmill. The reading-while-working-out thing made me sick to my stomach, but before I gave up, I turned to the page describing the black-horned tree cricket, Oecanthus nigricornis. Eureka! The photo I had taken almost a year and a half ago popped into my brain. Finally, I had an identification for this fascinating creature. The photographs in the book are superb. They even have shots of both the male and female. Looking at the image above, I think this is a female because it has a long , narrow ovipositor jutting backwards from its abdomen! Cool. According to Lang and Hesrberger's book, this species ranges throughout Ohio, living in brushy fields, roadsides and bramble thickets. That definitely matches up with the early successional habitats around Alum Creek Lake near the main campground where I took this picture. Hopefully I'll see this insect again this summer. What a cool find. Save those old digital pictures, and hit the library often!

Tom