“Bullfrogs and butterflies, we’ve both been born again,” or so the catchy song from my early  childhood proclaimed. The main idea of the song was that both bullfrogs and butterflies  experience such a radical transformation in their anatomy and appearance, that it is as if they  were born again as completely new creatures.

Consider what a radical transformation it really is. A tadpole hatches from an egg into a  standing water environment such as a pond or puddle. It is born with gills to absorb and  process the oxygen in the water. It has a tail that helps it to wiggle through the water to find  bits of algae or small insects to munch on. But after a few weeks, astounding changes occur.  The tail begins to recede, and small nubs begin to form into tiny, webbed feet. A few more  weeks, and the tadpole more and more resembles the adult frog that it is becoming. The legs  strengthen until one day, it crawls out onto the land. Some frogs are able to hop many feet into the air.

Read the full article here: May ’23 Issue 21