pupa

[ pyoo-puh ]

noun,plural pu·pae

[pyoo-pee], /ˈpyu pi/, pu·pas.

an insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile, transformation stage between the larva and the imago.

Origin of pupa

1765–70; <New Latin, special use of Latin pūpa girl, doll, puppet. See pupil¹, puppet

Other words from pupa

pupal, adjective

Words Nearby pupa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pupa in a sentence

The biggest challenge was the silkworm pupa, which was large and segmented and just looked so … insecty.
‘Gory Details’ dives into the morbid, the taboo — and our minds | Kate Travis | March 1, 2021 | Science News
In their wild journeyings on and on before spinning the pupa shroud, they fall victims in attempting to cross streams.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. VI, No. 3, October 1899 | Various
The pupa, distinguished by a large thoracic region, breathes through a pair of tubes on the thorax.
A Civic Biology | George William Hunter
pupa (Abida) secale is named from the Latin for rye, a grain of which the shell more or less resembles.
Our British Snails | John William Horsley
The larva and the active pupa or nymph are aquatic and are predaceous, as is also the adult.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects | C. V. Riley

There is even one tribe of insects which presents the strange anomaly of being born in the pupa state.
An Introduction to Entomology: Vol. III (of 4) | William Kirby

British Dictionary definitions for pupa

pupa

/ (ˈpjuːpə) /

nounplural -pae (-piː) or -pas

an insect at the immobile nonfeeding stage of development between larva and adult, when many internal changes occur: See coarctate, exarate, obtect

Origin of pupa

C19: via New Latin, from Latin: a doll, puppet

Derived forms of pupa

pupal, 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 pupa

pupa

[ pyōō′pə ]

Plural pupae (pyōō′pē)

An insect in the nonfeeding stage of development between the larva and adult, during which it typically undergoes a complete transformation within a protective cocoon or hardened case. Only certain kinds of insects, such as moths, butterflies, ants, and beetles, develop as larvae and pupae. Compare imago larva nymph.

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