INTRODUCTION

Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal
physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a
conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body
structure through cell growth and differentiation.
[1]
 Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidari
ans, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which
is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source
or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo
complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"), incomplete
metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis
("ametaboly").
Scientific usage of the term is technically precise, and it is not
applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth
spurts. Generally organisms with a larva stage undergo
metamorphosis, and during metamorphosis the organism loses
larval characteristics. [4] References to "metamorphosis"
in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial, but historically
idealist ideas of transformation and morphology, as
in Goethe's Metamorphosis of Plants, have influenced the
development of ideas of evolution.
Hormonal control
In insects, growth and metamorphosis are controlled
by hormones synthesized by endocrine glands near the front of
the body (anterior). Neurosecretory cells in an insect's
brain secrete a hormone, the prothoracicotropic
hormone (PTTH) that activates prothoracic glands, which
secrete a second hormone, usually ecdysone (an ecdysteroid),
that induces ecdysis.] PTTH also stimulates the corpora allata, a
retrocerebral organ, to produce juvenile hormone, which
prevents the development of adult characteristics during ecdysis.
In holometabolous insects, molts between larval instars have a
high level of juvenile hormone, the moult to the pupal stage has
a low level of juvenile hormone, and the final, or imaginal, molt
has no juvenile hormone present at all.] Experiments
on firebugs have shown how juvenile hormone can affect the
number of nymph instar stages in hemimetabolous insects.

Insects
All three categories of metamorphosis can be found in the
diversity of insects, including no metamorphosis ("ametaboly"),
incomplete or partial metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), and
complete metamorphosis ("holometaboly"). While ametabolous
insects show very little difference between larval and adult
forms (also known as "direct development"), both
hemimetabolous and holometabolous insects have significant
morphological and behavioral differences between larval and
adult forms, the most significant being the inclusion, in
holometabolus organisms, of a pupal or resting stage between
the larval and adult forms.

Development and terminology

Two types of metamorphosis are shown. In a complete
(holometabolous) metamorphosis the insect passes through four
distinct phases, which produce an adult that does not resemble
the larva. In an incomplete (hemimetabolous) metamorphosis an
insect does not go through a full transformation, but instead
transitions from a nymph to an adult by molting its exoskeleton
as it grows.
In hemimetabolous insects, immature stages are called nymphs.
Development proceeds in repeated stages of growth
and ecdysis (moulting); these stages are called instars. The
juvenile forms closely resemble adults, but are smaller and lack
adult features such as wings and genitalia. The size and
morphological differences between nymphs in different instars
are small, often just differences in body proportions and the
number of segments; in later instars, external wing buds form.
The period from one molt to the next is called a stadium.
Evolution
The earliest insect forms showed direct development
(ametabolism), and the evolution of metamorphosis in insects is
thought to have fuelled their dramatic radiation . Some early
ametabolous "true insects" are still present today, such
as bristletails and silverfish. Hemimetabolous insects
include cockroaches, grasshoppers, dragonflies, and true bugs.
Phylogenetically, all insects in the Pterygota undergo a marked
change in form, texture and physical appearance from immature
stage to adult. These insects either
have hemimetabolous development, and undergo an incomplete
or partial metamorphosis, or holometabolous development,
which undergo a complete metamorphosis, including a pupal or
resting stage between the larval and adult forms.
A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the
evolution of holometaboly from hemimetaboly, mostly centering
on whether or not the intermediate stages of hemimetabolous
forms are homologous in origin to the pupal stage of
holometabolous forms.

Temperature-dependent metamorphosis
According to a 2009 study, temperature plays an important role
in insect development as each individual species are found to
have specific thermal windows that allow them to progress
through their developmental stages. These windows are not
significantly affected by ecological traits, rather, the windows
are phylogenetically adapted to the ecological circumstances
insects are living in.
Recent research
According to research from 2008, adult Manduca sexta is able to
retain behavior learned as a caterpillar. Another caterpillar, the
ornate moth caterpillar, is able to carry toxins that it acquires
from its diet through metamorphosis and into adulthood, where
the toxins still serve for protection against predators.
Many observations published in 2002, and supported in 2013
indicate that programmed cell death plays a considerable role
during physiological processes of multicellular organisms,
particularly during embryogenesis, and
metamorphosis. Additional research in 2019 found that
both autophagy and apoptosis, the two ways programmed cell
death occur, are processes undergone during insect
metamorphosis. 
Below is the sequence of steps in the metamorphosis of the
butterfly (illustrated):

Metamorphosis of butterfly (PSF)

1 – The larva of a butterfly
2 – The pupa is now spewing the thread to form chrysalis
3 – The chrysalis is fully formed
4 – Adult butterfly coming out of the chrysalis

Frogs and toads

With frogs and toads, the external gills of the newly hatched
tadpole are covered with a gill sac after a few days, and lungs
are quickly formed. Front legs are formed under the gill sac, and
hindlegs are visible a few days later. Following that there is
usually a longer stage during which the tadpole lives off a
vegetarian diet. Tadpoles use a relatively long, spiral‐shaped gut
to digest that diet. Recent studies suggest tadpoles don't have a
balanced homeostatic feedback control system until the
beginning stages of metamorphosis. At this point, their long gut
shortens and begins favoring the diet of insects.
Rapid changes in the body can then be observed as the lifestyle
of the frog changes completely. The spiral‐shaped mouth with
horny tooth ridges is resorbed together with the spiral gut. The
animal develops a big jaw, and its gills disappear along with its
gill sac. Eyes and legs grow quickly, a tongue is formed, and all
this is accompanied by associated changes in the neural
networks (development of stereoscopic vision, loss of the lateral
line system, etc.) All this can happen in about a day, so it is truly
a metamorphosis. It is not until a few days later that the tail is
reabsorbed, due to the higher thyroxin concentrations required
for tail resorption

THE LIFE CYCLE OF A FROG

It includes three stages: Egg, larva, and adult
The life cycle of a frog consists of three stages: egg, larva, and
adult. As the frog grows, it moves through these stages in a
process known as metamorphosis. Frogs are not the only
animals to undergo metamorphosis; most other amphibians also
undergo remarkable changes throughout their life cycles, as do
many species of invertebrates. During metamorphosis, two
hormones, prolactin and thyroxine, control the transformation
from egg to larva to adult.

BREEDING
The breeding season for frogs usually occurs during the spring
in temperate climates and during the rainy season in tropical
climates. When male frogs are ready to breed, they often use
loud croaking calls to attract partners. Males produce these calls
by filling a vocal sac with air and moving the air back and forth
to create a chirp-like sound.
When mating, the male frog holds onto the female's back,
clasping his front legs around her waist or neck. This embrace is
referred to as amplexus; its purpose is to ensure that the male is
in the optimal position to fertilize the female's eggs as she lays
them.

STAGE 1: EGG

Many species lay their eggs in calm water among vegetation,

where the eggs can develop in relative safety. The female frog
lays numerous eggs in masses that tend to clump together in
groupings known as spawn. As she deposits the eggs, the male
releases sperm onto the eggs and fertilizes them.
In many species of frogs, the adults leave the eggs to develop
without further care. But in a few species, parents remain with
the eggs to look after them as they develop. As the fertilized
eggs mature, the yolk in each egg splits into more and more cells
and begins to take the form of a tadpole, the larva of a frog.
Within one to three weeks, the egg is ready to hatch, and a tiny
tadpole breaks free.

STAGE 2: TADPOLE (LARVA)

Tadpoles, frogs' larvae, have rudimentary gills, a mouth, and a

long tail. For the first week or two after the tadpole hatches, it
moves very little. During this time, the tadpole absorbs the
remaining yolk left over from the egg, which provides much-
needed nourishment. After absorbing the yolk, the tadpole is
strong enough to swim on its own.
Most tadpoles feed on algae and other vegetation, so they are
considered herbivores. They filter material from the water as
they swim or tear away bits of plant material. As the tadpole
continues to grow, it begins to develop hind limbs. Its body
elongates and its diet grows more robust, shifting to larger plant
matter and even insects. Later in development, front limbs grow
and tails shrink. Skin forms over the gills.
 STAGE 3: ADULT
At approximately 12 weeks of age, the tadpole's gills and tail
have been fully absorbed into the body, meaning that the frog
has reached the adult stage of its life cycle. It is now ready to
venture out onto dry land and, in time, repeat the life cycle.