Bringing nature inside

Well since we have decided to keep some of the frogs for a little longer, we are really bringing nature inside our house. We often have a table covered in gum leaves and gum nuts. I collect loads of these and dump them out on the table to ID when I get a chance. This often means an array of insects and spiders scatter all about the table too. Though having the frogs in a tank in the kitchen, means we are reminded all day long of the wonderful secret life of frogs. I count them all the time and try and see where they are hiding, what they are doing and how they are changing. It's really remarkable to watch the changes in the frogs in such a short period of time. Currently we have 5 in the tank inside. We still have a heap of tadpoles in the tank in the shed, so depending on how we go with these five, we may keep more or decide to release them.

So of the five we have inside, there are four of the same species and one which is distinctly different. Now I am only guessing at this stage, as they are still very tiny and developing but I think all five are of the tree frog family (Hylidae). I think the four which are similar are most likely Graceful Treefrogs (Litoria gracilenta) which I wrote about in the previous post. Their underbelly is a very pale yellow and they have an orange eye. Most of the time they sit on the walls or roof of the tank. Except when feeding of course.

You can see in the photo there is a fork with a rotting carrot on the end. So in comparison to the fork, you can see how tiny these little fellos really are. I have been keeping a bucket of rotting veggie scraps outside. This attracts all kinds of small invertebrates. We hold a small container about the bucket and give it a shake. The Fruit Flies (Vinegar flies I'm guessing, will have to look into that too) fly up and into the container. I release these inside the tank for the frogs. I also use a fork and pick up a rotting piece of food and leave this inside the tank. It has a whole array of live food items such as maggots on the scrap and the frogs can pick whatever they like to eat. A buffet! So they are very cheap and easy to keep. Feeding time is so interesting and the kids just love watching the frogs hunt down and catch their prey.

So back to the species identification. The one which is different, is much larger and darker. Unlike the frogs pictured above (which climb the wall of the tank), this one prefers to stay on the rocks. So I am guessing it is a ground dwelling tree frog. I'd like to think it's Litoria brevipalmata or Green Thighed Frog. It's very hard to tell when they are still so tiny. The features which make me sway are the rich olive skin colour (which gets darker each day), the white lip and slightly pointed snout and the dark band that runs across the face. They seem to be classified as endangered, due to the very small geographic locations they live in but I will do some more research in the coming weeks.

Again you can see how tiny they are against the fork. Each day they are growing and changing and so hopefully I will be able to identify them soon. I'm really fascinated in them and the kids and I just love having them inside. I've written a fair bit about frogs in this blog so far, as it just happens to be what is in our lives at this moment.

My daughter loves to climb trees in our yard (and everywhere actually). Some mornings it's the first thing she does, still in PJ's. I have to get ready early as my kids like to get outside as soon as possible and I often find I'm out there still in PJ's, unbrushed hair and a coffee in hand. While she is in the trees, she often points out various insects etc. This week she collected several caterpillars from the Poinciana Tree. We have them appear every year and it's every noticeable when they are about because the tree gets crowded with Rainbow Lorikeets and Scaly Breasted Lorikeets, which both feed on this caterpillar. They also shred the leaves bare. I'm yet to identify this caterpillar but here is a picture. If you happen to know what it is, please let me know.

They are very well camouflaged on the mid-vein and are really hard to find. I'm thinking they are a moth caterpillar and will do some more research. We have tried to keep them in a cage twice before but they seem very unhappy and so have released them. You can see the Lorikeets feeding in the Poinciana in the photo below.

My daughter also found another caterpillar, which we have identified as the caterpillar of the Common Emigrant or Lemon Emigrant Butterfly (Catopsilia pomona). Of all the butterflies we have at our house, this is the most common. Over the years I have seen huge 'flocks' of them, particularly as I've driven through Western Brisbane. Some years I've noticed hundreds and other years very few. They are a lovely medium sized lemon coloured butterfly. I have tried on several occasions to get photos of them but it's so hard.

These caterpillars were just fine with us putting them in cage with sufficient food, so you guessed it, we are now watching caterpillars in our kitchen also.

We make sure to top them up with fresh leaves daily and I spray a little water into the cage. There are five and so far they seem happy, so we will keep them inside and watch them too. We are all keen to see them form the chrysalis and change into butterflies. So I'm hoping a future post will be about the successful transformation of these lovely caterpillars. Enjoy your weekend.