Nymph, pupa, adult: What do these stages mean in insects? (6 photos)

The formation of an insect personality is called metamorphosis - an age-related change in the structure of the body. This process could be called simply “growing up,” but simplicity is not the strong point of insects. Insects are accustomed to complicating their lives from birth, but we must give them their due - they do it beautifully.





The same troll toy from childhood that has been battered by life.

The entire metamorphosis occurs in several stages. And each of them changes the insect beyond recognition! It all starts with an egg. There are no fundamental differences in the maturation process of insect eggs, but outwardly they can be so different that sometimes it is even unclear: is it even from our planet?



All you see in the photo are eggs of various insects, and not random 3D graphics.

The second stage is the larva, or nymph. Here the insect is not much different from a post-New Year's person: the young bug joyfully gobbles up everything it can reach, sometimes on an incredible scale. Scientists estimate that some species eat 27,000 times their own body weight during the nymphal stage!





Anyone who has seen chafer larvae knows that they can be gigantic!

Naturally, with such appetites, clothes made of chitin very quickly become small. Therefore, the larva molts several times, shedding its integument, which has become narrow at the waist. The period from molting to molting in larvae is called instar. Depending on the type of insect, these instars by the beginning of the third stage can number from 3 to 30.



Yes, this jelly is also a nymph. It will grow into a slug butterfly.

The third stage sounds fascinating - the pupa. An overfed beech completely loses the ability to move, becomes covered with a dense cuticle, and real magic comes into effect! The insect transforms from an awkward larva into an adult.



Beauty is loaded at 80%. Please wait.

Contrary to popular belief, the larva in the pupa does not turn into mush from which the future insect is born. Undifferentiated cells remain in the body of the pupa. That is, those that do not yet belong to any system of the body. In fact, this is a supply of raw material from which the insect “sculpts” its ideal figure. And after molting, insects leave eerie empty skins - their former covers. So don't be alarmed if you find one in the forest or park!



You were born, but no one taught you how to clean up after yourself? Come on, clean up your old clothes!

And finally, the final stage of insect development is the imago, or adult individual. Every insect comes to her sooner or later. These are the same butterflies and bugs that we most often encounter in life. Each of them has its own characteristics and its own secrets, but most often there is only one mission - to leave offspring. Some species live only a couple of days. And the life of a deadling lasts only for minutes; most adults will not last even a day!