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, cru
staceans, cnidarians, 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.