Yellow-Banded Poison Dart Frog

Dendrobates leucomelas

Yellow-banded poison dart frog, Dendrobates leucomelas, is a boldly patterned dendrobatid from the Guiana Shield of northern South America, especially Venezuela and nearby parts of Guyana, Brazil, and Colombia. It is often called the bumblebee dart frog because the black body is crossed with yellow to orange bands that may break into spots. Adults are small, active by day, and usually found around humid forest-floor cover. In the wild, their skin alkaloids come from tiny arthropod prey, which is why captive-bred frogs on standard feeder insects are not comparably toxic.

Captive-bred yellow-banded poison dart frogs are common in the amphibian hobby, though they still should not be handled casually. They do best in planted tropical vivariums with leaf litter, clean moisture, steady warmth, and enough ventilation to prevent stagnant conditions. Fruit flies, springtails, and other small feeders are standard foods. Breeding pairs place eggs in sheltered humid sites, and keepers often raise tadpoles separately to prevent losses. Source transparency matters because wild dart frogs are subject to international and local trade controls.