JEFFERSON CITY, MO. ? Frog legs rank alongside caviar, escargot and oysters Rockefeller as delicacies for cultured palates.

People who treasure the taste of fresh frog legs — fried, fricasseed or sauteed — don’t have much longer to wait in Missouri. The season will open June 30.

From sunset the last day of this month through Oct. 31, frog aficionados can take bullfrogs or green frogs with either a fishing or a hunting permit.

Their legs are what draw the most attention. Each summer thousands of hungry Missouriians head out to darkening lakes and streams to bag a “mess” of frog legs for a midnight snack. Frog legs are variously reported to taste like chicken or fish.

Regulations concerning the taking of green and bullfrogs are almost as versatile as the victuals themselves. If you have a hunting permit, you can take frogs with a .22-caliber rim-fire rifle or pistol, pellet gun, longbow, crossbow, handnet or with your bare hands.

With a fishing permit, you may use your hands or a handnet, a gig, a longbow or hook and line.

Frogs are among a small number of game animals for which the use of artificial lights is not only legal but nearly indispensable.

The daily limit is eight green and bullfrogs in the aggregate. The possession limit is 16. If you choose the right frogs, 16 legs is a lot of food.