larva

American  

[lahr-vuh] / ˈlɑr və /

noun

• larvae
  plural

1. Entomology. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.

2. any animal in an analogous immature form.

3. the young of any invertebrate animal.

4. Roman Antiquity. larvae, malignant ghosts, as lemures.

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larva British  

/ ˈlɑːvə /

noun

1. an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis

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larva Scientific  

/ lär′və /

• larvae
  plural

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. Compare imago nymph pupa

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• larval
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• larvae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of larva

First recorded in 1645–55; from New Latin; special use of Latin larva “a ghost, specter, mask, skeleton”; akin to Lares

Explanation

The immature form of many insects and amphibians is a larva. A caterpillar is one example of a larva — it has hatched from an egg and will eventually become a fully mature butterfly. You may picture a larva as a little grubby white bug, and in many cases you'd be correct. Many insects pass through a larval stage in which they resemble grubs — in fact, grubs are the larva of insects like June bugs and Japanese beetles. Other familiar larvae include tadpoles and maggots. The name, which means "evil spirit" or "terrifying mask" in Latin, comes from the idea that a larval insect's final form is hidden, or "masked."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

larva larvae

That’s because a screwworm larva “attacks living flesh,” Talbot said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

"Over several weeks, they not only reshaped their morphological features, but also had a completely different feeding behavior, typical of a cydippid larva."

From Salon ● Nov. 10, 2024

The weird thing is, the larva cannot produce carminic acid on its own.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 15, 2024

It looks like the larva of a butterfly.

From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023

Taylor dropped the larva into Adina’s open palm.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

Innovafeed breeds black soldier flies in a factory in northern France and turns the larvae into an ingredient for fish feed and other products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

The anchovy shortage put fly larvae in the money.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

Their larvae, called grubs, often feast on the organic matter in compost.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

Younger ants generally remain inside the nest and care for larvae.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

And there are many wasps, and flies as well, whose very existence depends on the destruction of the eggs or larvae of other insects through parasitism.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• grub
• worm