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

Example Sentences

In 2020, Marsh Fritillary butterfly larvae webs and Brown Hairstreak butterfly eggs were laid at the retreat and continue to thrive there.

From BBC

Its larvae inhabit damp mats of moss and algae along the Antarctic Peninsula.

From Science Daily

Ants even feed the beetles mouth-to-mouth, and the beetles munch on their adopted colony’s eggs and larvae.

From Los Angeles Times

Each mite larva measures about 500 micrometers, or half a millimeter.

From Science Daily

“The seasoned families will never live on apartment house terms, like larvae in a honeycomb,” wrote the muckraking journalist Will Irwin in 1927.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• grub
• worm