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

For many years, scientists believed the recipe for creating a queen honeybee was straightforward: give a developing larva plenty of royal jelly, and it becomes the colony's ruler.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

"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

It has set its sights on a bizarre-looking insect larva known as the mealybug ladybird, which sports a coat of white, waxy filaments that resembles fleece.

From Science Magazine ● Mar. 15, 2024

As Maria discovered, all butterflies and moths undergo complete metamorphosis, which means they move through four very different phases: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

When he opened up the shop Friday morning, Ramirez said, he found larvae on the sidewalk and nearby trees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

That shift matched the insects' normal progression from nursing larvae inside the nest to gathering food outside it.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

The researchers created an automated behavioral system that placed individual ants with individual larvae.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

This demonstrated that the neuropeptides were not merely associated with caregiving but could actively influence whether an ant nurtured larvae or went searching for food.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026

Its eggs were unwittingly brought aboard ships in water casks, where they hatched into larvae and grew into adult mosquitoes in seven days.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

Related Words

• grub
• worm