Details
Dryophytes japonicus
The Japanese tree frog is a small, familiar treefrog of East Asia. It calls around rice fields and gardens and climbs vegetation or walls with adhesive toe pads.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It is widespread in Japan, Korea, China and nearby areas, using forest edges, grassland, rice fields, wetlands, farms and towns. Breeding draws adults to paddies, ponds and shallow channels.
Adults are about 2.5-4.5 cm long. The back is usually green but may shift brown or gray, with a dark line from the snout through the eye and a pale underside.
Nocturnal males call in choruses around water, especially after rain and in early summer. By day, frogs rest on leaves, among grasses or in gaps around buildings.
Flies, moths, mosquitoes, ants, spiders and other small invertebrates are taken. Around rice fields, it also eats agricultural pests.
Breeding runs from spring into summer in shallow water. Females lay small egg masses, and tadpoles grow in warm paddies, ponds and ditches.
The species remains common near people and is listed as Least Concern. Its tolerance of cold and dry spells helps it persist across seasonal East Asian landscapes.
