incomplete metamorphosis

American  

[in-kuhm-pleet met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis] / ɪn kəmˈplit mɛt əˈmɔr fə sɪs /

noun

1. insect development, as in the grasshopper and cricket, in which the change is gradual and characterized by the absence of a pupal stage.

---

Etymology

Origin of incomplete metamorphosis

First recorded in 1770–75

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incomplete metamorphosis

Grasshoppers, cicadas, cockroaches, and yes, dragonflies, are all examples of incomplete metamorphosis, also called non-holometabolous.

From New York Times ● Apr. 25, 2023

Some animals, such as grasshoppers, undergo incomplete metamorphosis, in which the young resemble the adult.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

Regardless of whether a species undergoes complete or incomplete metamorphosis, the series of developmental stages of the embryo remains largely the same for most members of the animal kingdom.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

All are vegetable feeders, and, as in all orthopterous insects, have an incomplete metamorphosis, so that their destructive powers are continuous from the moment of emergence from the egg till death.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various

Another name for the larva of insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis is nymph.

From The Insect Folk by Morley, Margaret Warner