pupa

American  

[pyoo-puh] / ˈpju pə /

noun

pupae, plural pupas plural

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

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pupa British  

/ ˈpjuːpə /

noun

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

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pupa Scientific  

/ pyo̅o̅′pə /

pupae plural

1. 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.

2. Compare imago larva nymph

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pupal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pupae
  plural
• pupas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pupa

1765–70; < New Latin, special use of Latin pūpa girl, doll, puppet. See pupil ¹, puppet

Explanation

A pupa is an immature insect, in the stage of development just before adulthood. A butterfly or moth pupa is known as a "chrysalis." Some kinds of insects go through dramatic, distinct stages as they grow, otherwise known as metamorphosis. For these insects, the egg and larval stages are followed by a period of time as a pupa that can last weeks, or even years, depending on the insect species and what the temperature is. At the end of their time as a pupa, insects break open their shell or case and emerge, fully grown.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pupa pupae pupas

The foods are extreme and run the gamut, from silkworm pupa to a whole goat head.

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

Schmitt, whose work focuses on chemical communication in social insects, notes that workers can target a single sick pupa among many.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 3, 2025

The black dots are larval tracks pushing into an oak, while the white object is a pupa preparing to become an adult.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2024

Then they saw a midge pupa, with its wings developed but not quite ready to fly.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 20, 2022

People knew about it but let it grow gradually like a pupa in the cocoons of their imaginations.

From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck

Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service maintains a screwworm pupae sterilization facility in North America and is currently building a new center in southern Texas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

US officials said some four million sterile flies are now being released weekly from the sky, and that some four million more in the pupae stage were being deployed in ground release chambers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026

Eradication was possible through the sterile insect technique, which uses gamma radiation to irradiate screwworm pupae and create sterile male flies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

To figure out what bees actually need, researchers analyzed tissues from pupae and adult bees.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 27, 2026

In some plates, caterpillars and pupae are shown with the wrong adults.

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

I think of middle school as being this time of tremendous change, when kids are kind of pupas again, and their environment is so important, and their environment is school.

From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2021

After that 1974 final, their president, Vicente Calderón described them as el pupas, the jinxed one.

From The Guardian ● May 28, 2016

The new work involves three different species of parasitic jewel wasps, tiny insects that drill into the pupas of flies and lay their eggs, letting the offspring feed on the host.

From Science Magazine ● Jul. 18, 2013

In about twelve days or longer they turn into tumblers or pupas, which in a few days longer come to the top when their backs split open and the mosquito comes out and flies away.

From Manual of Military Training Second, Revised Edition by Moss, James A. (James Alfred)