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pupa

[pyoo-puh]
noun, plural pu·pae [pyoo-pee] /ˈpyu pi/, pu·pas.
  1. an insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile, transformation stage between the larva and the imago.
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Origin of pupa

1765–70; < New Latin, special use of Latin pūpa girl, doll, puppet. See pupil1, puppet
Related formspu·pal, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pupae

Historical Examples

  • These are the chrysalids or pupae of the insect and later from them will come the millers.

    An Elementary Study of Insects

    Leonard Haseman

  • Larvae are very scarce; pupae abound, as do perfect insects.

  • Though they are not quite so numerous, there are also plenty of pupae.

  • How is the parasite's inroad into the flesh fly's pupae effected?

    The Life of the Fly

    J. Henri Fabre

  • I have gathered a number of pupae of the flesh fly in one of my vermin jars.

    The Life of the Fly

    J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for pupae

pupa

noun plural -pae (-piː) or -pas
  1. an insect at the immobile nonfeeding stage of development between larva and adult, when many internal changes occurSee coarctate, exarate, obtect
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Derived Formspupal, adjective

Word Origin

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

Word Origin and History for pupae

pupa

n.

"post-larval stage of an insect," 1773, special use by Linnæus (1758) of Latin pupa "girl, doll, puppet" (see pupil (n.1)) on notion of "undeveloped creature." Related: Pupal; pupiform.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pupae in Science

pupa

[pyōō′pə]
Plural pupae (pyōō′pē)
  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. Compare imago larva nymph.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.