pupate

[pyoo-peyt]

verb (used without object)

pupated, pupating 

1. to become a pupa.

pupate

/ pjuːˈpeɪt /

verb

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

Other Word Forms

• pupation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pupate¹

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.

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

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They’re growing out of a butterfly larva, now dead, that had buried itself in the soil to pupate.

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

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Like all beetles, the firefly cycles through a complete metamorphosis—hatching from its egg as a crawling larva before pupating into a mature adult.

Read more on Science Magazine