larva

American  

[lahr-vuh] / ˈlɑr və /

noun

plural

larvae

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 /

plural

larvae

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

• larval adjective

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

Working with week-old zebrafish larva, researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and colleagues decoded how the connections formed by a network of neurons in the brainstem guide the fishes' gaze.

From Science Daily • Nov. 22, 2024

"Witnessing how they slowly transition to a typical cydippid larva as if they were going back in time, was simply fascinating," Soto-Angel said in a statement.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2024

Dr Smith said this might have been caused by high concentrations of phosphorus in the ocean where this larva briefly lived and died.

From BBC • Jul. 31, 2024

As the ants start to attack, the larva tenses its muscles and expels a drop of bright red fluid known as hemolymph.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 15, 2024

Every once in a while, a bubble would swell and burst, disgorging a monster like a larva from an egg.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• grub
• worm