Paul Hamilton, age 11, of Richmond, Va., for his question:
How do tree frogs differ from other frogs?
Most frogs spend their lives in and around their favorite swimming pools, After they become adults, we find them among the grass and weeds near a. creek or pond, swimming, dozing on a lily pad or just squatting at the bottom of the water. Tree frogs also like and need moisture, but after they are grown they rarely dunk themselves in the water.
A tree frog, like any other frog, spends his fishy tadpole stage in the water. In a month or so he is a miniature frog, ready to venture onto dry land. You can tell at once whether he is a true frog or a tree frog. Mother Nature has f fitted the tree frog w ith special f fingers and toes for climbing trees.
There are small round disks on the four fingers of his tiny hands and on the five toes of his tiny feet. These disks are suction cups which help the small tree climber to cling. He can climb straight up a trunk, hold onto a swaying branch or even hang comfortably upside down,'
As soon as he is ready, the tree frog leaves the old swimming pool where his cousins, the true frogs, will live all their lives. But as a rule he does not travel very far. He goes to the shrubs, the tall grasses and the low hanging branches near the water. Hors the air is moist and. the leaves are often splashed, for the tree frog is an amphibian and the skin of an amphibian needs moisture. Our tree frog is always most happy to welcome a dewy morning and he spends many hour just squatting in the crotch of a twig, thinking froggy thoughts and smiling his big froggy smile.
His thoughts are most likely about insects, his favorite food. He keel his big mouth shut until a fly wings by. Then in a flashy out whips his long sticky tongue. Unlike most tongues, a frog's is rooted to the center of the lower jaw, It is a very accurate weapon and in no time at all the fly is caught, curled back into the mouth and swallowed.
The tree frog has another gift to help him enjoy life among the leaves and. branches. He can change color to suit his surroundings. He may wear pearly grey, brown or almost any shade of green depending upon where he is squatting. This helps him to become invisible to his enemies the racoons, the snakes and the meat eating birds,
As a frog grows, he sheds his skin from time to time and changing his topcoat is quite a job. The paper thin old skin becomes dry and crisp and, for a short while, the frog is very uncomfortable. Then the old coat splits lengthwise down the back and the frog has to wriggle out of it. He bites at it and rubs himself against some rough solid object until he is free. A new skin, one size larger, has already grown under the old and the newly dressed frog usually eats up his cast‑off papery skin. Our tree frog will molt several times before he is fully grown.
When gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) hibernate, they have a high freezing tolerance due to glycerol in their blood. During this period, 80% of the body freezes—indeed, they appear rigid—and the eyes become opaque as breathing and heartbeat are temporarily suspended.