Mary Naylor., age 9, of Wichita, Kansas,
Do tree frogs really live in trees?
At this time of year, the frogs always hop right into Andyts column. The reason, of course, is that a great multitude of frogs hop into every springtime, Many of Andy’..s young readers notice them for the first time and naturally ask all kinds of froggy questions. Maybe you read the column about the difference between the frogs and the toads, If so, you know that the scientist classifies them all in the order Salientia, which means the leaping ones. The lithe acrobatic frogs are classed in the genus Rana and the squat toads are classified in the genus Bufo. But what of the dainty little fellows some people call tree frogs and others call tree toads?
These dainty darlings have a genus classification all to themselves* The name is Hyla, And many of them spend most of their lives in the shrubbery. At least some of them never go near apond or stream. Others spend their daytime hours clinging to the damp and shady sides of canyon boulders,
All the tree frogs are specially fitted for climbing, Most of the ordinary frogs have slender, tapering fingers and toes. Most of the toads have shorter, stubby fingerz, but they usually taper towards the tips, The tree frog has little round disks on the ends of his fingers and toes. These disks all used to cling as the tiny creatures climb among the trees or boulders,
Most of the tree frogs are small creatures with coats to match their surroundings. You might look right at one of them sitting there among the foliage and not see him, The little fellow also has a tiny voice, When he joins the frog chorus after sunset, his thin, treble voice is hardly heard above the din.
The bullfrog booms like a bass drum, the peepers peep‑peep on their flutes, the cricket frogs add t heir chirps and a dozen other merry makers add their notes to the cheerful din. You must have very sharp ears to catch the high, shrill pe‑peep of the tree frogs,
Most of the tree frogs return to the raster to lay their eggs. There they float,, tiny black balls embedded in gobs of jelly, Soon the black ball hatch into wriggly black tadpoles. Bit by bit the tadpoles become frogs. The same watery pool may be the playground for other frog or toad tadpoles. But when the little fellows become miniature adults, the time has come to part.
The slithery frogs stay by the pool while the toads take off to the fields and wdods4 The tree frogs leave their pool and go to live among the tress and shrubs, Those that live in the dairies and deserts take up life among the shady canyon boulders. A certain tree frog of Mexico lays her eggs in damp foliage, The tadpoles swim arid slither through the moisture like little black worms. In time they become frogs, never having visiteda pond..