pupate

American  

[pyoo-peyt] / ˈpyu peɪt /

verb (used without object)

pupated, pupating

1. to become a pupa.

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pupate British  

/ pjuːˈpeɪt /

verb

1. (intr) (of an insect larva) to develop into a pupa

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Other Word Forms

• pupation noun

Etymology

Origin of pupate

First recorded in 1875–80; pup(a) + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

The infestation cycle continues when the maggots emerge 10 days later, drop from the fruit and burrow two to three centimeters into the dirt to pupate.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2024

Warmer springs mean that caterpillars hatch, grow and pupate earlier compared with just a few decades ago.

From Science Daily • Sep. 22, 2023

The flies lay eggs on the lake surface, producing larvae that swim down to the microbialites, where they pupate before maturing into adults.

From Science Magazine • Sep. 9, 2022

Strikingly, 66.7 percent of the polystyrene-eating larvae that were given the chance to pupate were successful.

From New York Times • Jun. 10, 2022

He’s working on something else: a growth hormone that will throw their systems out of whack and make them pupate before they’re supposed to.

From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood