Biology
Colostethus stepheni is a diurnal, terrestrial species spending its life in forest litter where it forages on invertebrates such as termites, beetles and flies. Breeding takes place in the rainy season. The male finds a suitable location and calls to attract a female. The nesting site is a boat-shaped curled up fallen leaf with another above acting as a roof. The female lays three to six eggs with gelatinous capsules inside the hollow leaf and remains at the nest for about an hour. After that she departs and the male returns and guards the eggs. He is territorial and drives off male intruders and seldom goes further than 20 centimetres (7.9 in) from the nest, continuing to remain nearby as the tadpoles develop. Further females are encouraged to lay inside the nest which may come to have several developing clutches of eggs of different ages. The developing larvae are not transported to water, as is the case with other dendrobatids, but complete their development on land. Metamorphosis into juvenile frogs occurs after about thirty one days.
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