The beautifully colored poison dart frogs are so named because tribes native to the South American rain forests have long used the poisonous secretions from their skin to poison their hunting dart tips. One frog can produce enough poison to treat as many as 50 darts. The brilliant warning colors of these frogs is a signal to their natural enemies that they should be avoided. Their natural habitat, the warm, moist rainforest floors in Central and South America, are fast being destroyed by depletion of the rainforests. These frogs are among the first to be places on the endangered species list. Recently, Abbott Labs discovered that their poison can be used to create a new painkiller, 200 more times powerful than morphine and non-addictive. It would be a shame to let these species disappear forever.

This blue poison dart frog is climbing up a bamboo stalk. A butterfly is resting on the other side. The clasp is a butterfly and there is an insect painted inside. The box is marked Artoria Peint Main, Limoges France and is signed and numbered by the artist. It measures 2¼"h x 1"w.