Why can a frog’s tongue-flicking response not be adjusted after it begins?

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Instinct Foraging is an example of an instinct driven by impulses serving specific biological functions.

A frog’s tongue-flicking response cannot be adjusted after it begins because it is a ballistic response.1

In the study of instinct, this behavior is classified as a fixed action pattern, which is a genetically determined, stereotyped behavior. Once the tongue-flicking mechanism is triggered by the frog's visual system—specifically by "bug-detector" cells that identify moving prey—the action runs its full course automatically. Because the movement is internally patterned and controlled, it proceeds without the possibility of further adjustment, even if the prey moves after the strike has been initiated.21