Cope's Grey Tree Frog, Hyla chrysoscelis have bred in the Howell Fountain with the #Chihuly 'Sapphire Star'!

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Today, I saw many developing Grey Tree Frog larvae in the Howell Fountain. This Grey Tree Frog tadpole was positioned perfectly in the reflection of the Sapphire Star, giving an almost cosmic appearance.


This amazing sculpture is part of the ongoing Chihuly exhibit at the Garden. Grey Tree Frogs are one of the native urban amphibian species being monitored by our Metro Atlanta Amphibian Monitoring Program (maamp.us). To my knowledge, this species has never bred before in this location - in the center of the Atlanta Botanical Garden right in midtown!

Male Grey Tree Frogs have been heard calling from the incredible glass sculpture - using the artwork as a surrogate 'tree'. Usually, they call from trees over hanging seasonal or fish less wetlands. The female will select the call they like the most and join him up in the tree (or in this case, the Chihuly) then they will both descend to the water in amplexus.

Here is the same image as above, only not cropped

Here is a side view of the baby Grey Tree Frog, with the Sapphire Star (where it's parents met!) in the background


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