larva
Entomology. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.
any animal in an analogous immature form.
the young of any invertebrate animal.
larvae, Roman Antiquity. malignant ghosts, as lemures.
Origin of larva
1Words that may be confused with larva
- larva , lava
Words Nearby larva
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use larva in a sentence
The larvae are also protected by the bark of the tree, meaning that it might need to be even colder to knock them out.
Does a cold winter mean fewer bugs in the summer? | Philip Kiefer | February 25, 2021 | Popular-ScienceMeanwhile, skinks — which made up 28 percent of the host animals captured — had 92 percent of the larvae and 98 percent of the nymphs.
The animals that ticks bite in the U.S. South can impact Lyme disease spread | Aimee Cunningham | February 5, 2021 | Science NewsThis is very uncommon for flies, where the adults and larvae often live in very different environments and feed on very different food.
Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires | Erica McAlister | October 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceAll larvae have mouthparts, though some can be very simple in structure, and are adapted for chewing or sucking at foods that range from plants to flesh.
Evolution made mosquitos into stealthy, sensitive vampires | Erica McAlister | October 15, 2020 | Popular-ScienceIf so, any impacts might have had to wait until those larvae grew into adults.
Pesticides can have long-term impact on bumblebee learning | Alison Pearce Stevens | May 18, 2020 | Science News For Students
When summer comes, adult beetles attack and larva feed in the cambium layer, girdling the trees and sealing their doom.
The entire larva is black and the segments of the body possess numerous tubercles bearing setae.
As soon as it hatches the larva attacks the cricket in the belly at the chosen spot where the egg has been layed.
The Natural Philosophy of Love | Remy de GourmontThe larva of the hemerolicus feeds also on the aphides, and deposits its eggs on the leaves of such plants as are beset with them.
The Book of Curiosities | I. PlattsWhat a shelter for the larva of this Pompilus: the warm retreat and downy hammock of the Segestria!
More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri FabreNo doubt the food for her family, the larva of which I possess the empty skin, now an unrecognizable shred.
More Hunting Wasps | J. Henri Fabre
British Dictionary definitions for larva
/ (ˈlɑːvə) /
an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis
Origin of larva
1Derived forms of larva
- larval, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for larva
[ lär′və ]
An animal in an early stage of development that differs greatly in appearance from its adult stage. Larvae are adapted to a different environment and way of life from those of adults and go through a process of metamorphosis in changing to adults. Tadpoles are the larvae of frogs and toads.
The immature, wingless, and usually wormlike feeding form of those insects that undergo three stages of metamorphosis, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Insect larvae hatch from eggs, later turn into pupae, and finally turn into adults. Compare imago nymph pupa.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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