### **Yellow-striped Reed Frog (*Hyperolius semidiscus*)**
Identification
This "jewel of the marsh" is a medium-sized reed frog, reaching about 35mm. Its dorsal surface is a vibrant, velvety emerald to lime green. The definitive field mark is a pair of thin, pale yellow pinstripes running from the snout, over the eyes, and down the flanks to the groin—often narrowly outlined in black. Look for the "flash colors": when they leap, they reveal brilliant orange or fiery red on the inner thighs and toes. Unlike the similar *Hyperolius argus*, which lacks the clean stripes, *H. semidiscus* maintains a sleek, elongated profile and possesses relatively large, orange-tinted toe discs used for scaling slippery reeds.
Habitat & Range
You’ll find these acrobats along the subtropical eastern coast of Southern Africa, stretching from the Eastern Cape through KwaZulu-Natal into Mozambique and Eswatini. They are specialists of permanent water bodies, favoring the lush fringes of rivers, pans, and dams. They are particularly fond of dense stands of papyrus and tall emergent grasses in coastal bushveld and savanna ecosystems.
Behaviour
By day, they are masters of concealment, pressing their bodies flat against green leaves to minimize shadows. At night, the marshes come alive. Males are highly territorial, clinging vertically to reeds well above the water to broadcast their call—a harsh, rapid "crick-crick-crick" that sounds remarkably like a fingernail being dragged across the teeth of a plastic comb. During the breeding season, you’ll see them performing impressive "tightrope" walks between grass blades to reach a calling site.
Diet
As opportunistic sit-and-wait predators, they feast on a variety of small, winged insects. Their diet primarily consists of midges, mosquitoes, and small moths that are attracted to the water's edge at night. They use their sticky, bifid tongues to snatch prey with lightning speed.
Fascinating Fact
To survive the blistering African sun while resting on exposed reeds, these frogs employ a "sunscreen" strategy called *estivation*. They can change their skin color to a much paler, almost white hue to reflect solar radiation, and they tuck their porous underbellies tightly against their limbs to create a waterproof seal, preventing dehydration!