Have you even been at the lake on vacation and heard a loud “jug-a-rum…jug-a-rum” and thought to yourself, what is a cow doing out here? Well, it’s not a cow or a bull, it’s an American Bullfrog! A fun fact, the American Bullfrog has actually obtained its name from the loud heavy bellow that mirrors a bull. In this article, we are going to go over what bullfrogs are, what they do, how they benefit or hurt the ecosystem, and of course why you should add them to your pond!
About
Lithobates Catesbeianus, also known as the American Bullfrog is native to eastern North America, finding homes near large bodies of still or slightly flowing water such as swamps, ponds, lakes, and even koi ponds. Believe it or not, lots of people across the world and especially in southern parts of the United States, they eat bullfrogs. They are said to be so delicious that they are considered a delicacy. Because of this, bullfrogs have been introduced to many other parts of the world, such as Europe, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. There conservation status is considered as “Least Concern” meaning they are far from threatened. Bullfrogs are known to get as big as 8 inches long, not including its full extended body and can weigh up to 1 over a pound. Bullfrogs are also known to be sexually dimorphic. That means there are systemic differences between males and females. For example, males are bigger than females, males having yellow throats, and males having tympana larger than their eyes where in females, its about the same size. The tympana is just a fancy scientific term for eardrum.
Eating/Behavior
To sum it up, bullfrogs are not picky eaters. They all pretty much stick to one rule, if it fits in their mouth, they will eat it. By nature, they are opportunistic ambush predators preying on any small animal or insect and known to be cannibals at times. Scientists have studied the stomachs of bullfrogs and have found rodents, lizards, snakes, frogs, toads, crayfish, birds, scorpions, tarantulas, bats and invertebrates such as snails, worms, and insects. Even some bullfrogs have been found to eat fish, tadpoles, beetles and eggs of fish. The reason bullfrogs are capable of eating a wide range of foods is because of their unbelievable jaw strength. Another helpful body part for the frog is its tongue. In the mouth, the tongue is held with great tension in the elastic tissues held back like a sling shot. The frog can spit its tongue out and retrieve prey as fast as 0.07 seconds.
Hibernation
As the weather get colder and everyone starts to prepare for winter, a bullfrog starts to look for a nice place to take a long nap. They try to look for mud or leaf litter at the bottom of ponds. The frog’s metabolism slows down so much that they do not need to eat and sitting under the water for all those months, the frogs actually breathe through their pourus skin.
Breeding
Bullfrogs have breeding season that is as long as three months. Usually, males will arrive to breeding sites in late May, early June and remaining until July. Males stay the longest and because of females short sexual receptivity, the females arrive when they are ready to mate, then leave with a new friend. After mating, females deposit eggs where she wants in the respected male’s territory, in a shallow water area around vegetation. Females lay up to 20,000 eggs at a time. The males then release sperm to complete external fertilization. The embryos develop best in 75 to 86 F degree water leading to hatching in 3-5 days. These embryos develop into tadpoles, using gills to breath. Now, a tadpoles journey to a bullfrog can take as short as three months, all the way up to 3 years, this all depends on the temperature around them. A healthy bullfrog can have a life span to 8-10 years however, a scientist have seen one bullfrog live up to 16 years in captivity!
Why your pond?
If you find your way down to your local nursery in the early spring days, you may find some tadpoles being sold. And you may ask yourself, why should I get them? First off, they are just another addition to your pond and a talking point to friends and family when gathering at your house. Another reason is insect control; frogs put a fairly large dent into the insect population, so who wouldn’t want fewer mosquitos? Lastly, they will serenade you with their lovely croaking and who wouldn’t want to feel like they are in the middle of the woods at the lake? So if you want to introduce the American bullfrog into your pond, there are two options. Option one; buy tadpoles from a local nursery (make sure they are a native species as invasive frogs can to detrimental damage to existing ecosystems). Option two; make sure your pond is frog friendly to attract bullfrogs. I recommend doing both. If you buy tadpoles and do not have the right habitat for them, they will indeed leave your pond in search of a friendlier environment. So lets go over how to make your pond the most frog friendly environment in town, essentially the 5 star frog hotel of town. Step one; easy access to the water. Have a shore line where wildlife can easily walk in, don’t have steep areas around the ponds at all times, have some shallow areas as well. Step two; add plants in and around the pond. Plants help shade, give cover, and make it a natural area for your bullfrogs. Step three: a little dirt is okay. Of coarse we want our pond to be as clean as possible however, bullfrogs will thrive in water where there is a lot bacteria, and nutrients. Step four; extra shelter. Putting clay pots on there side give shade, shelter, and a moist place to hang out during the day. They need damp cools places as well as a location to hide from predators. Step 5; minimize predators. For the best environment, not have dogs and cats around help, as well as raccoons and possums will help the bullfrogs thrive. Step six; NO CHEMICALS. Bullfrogs are very sensitive to chemicals and will immediately reject going into heavily chemically based water. A good test to know that your pond is frog friendly is if it attracts toads to the area during their mating seasons. You will get the added bonus of hearing the toads bellow as well. To conclude on the making the best area for frogs, make sure there is easy access to the water, add plants, frogs like it dirty, provide extra shelter, minimize predators, keep chemicals out.
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