What is the life cycle of Lepidoptera?
Lepidoptera are Holometabolous, their life cycle consists of four phases: egg, multiple instars, pupa, and adult. “Complete metamorphosis” is the common term for this life cycle.
What happens during metamorphosis?
The metamorphosis from a caterpillar into a butterfly occurs during the pupa stage. During this stage, the caterpillar’s old body dies and a new body forms inside a protective shell known as a chrysalis. Inside the cocoon and the chrysalis, the caterpillar is transforming into a new creature.
Where are Lepidopterans found?
Lepidopterans live on every continent except Antarctica. Though they are far more numerous and diversified in the tropics, some species survive at the limits of polar vegetation. There are many successful species in nearly every environment, from arid deserts and high mountaintops to marshes and tropical rainforests.
What are the characteristics of Lepidoptera?
Lepidoptera are ‘typical’ insects, in that they have 4 wings, 6 legs, 2 antennae and a body divided into 3 sections – a head, thorax and abdomen. The leg and wings are attached to the thorax. In a few species of moths, the females have evolved to become wingless.
What is the larval stage of a butterfly called?
caterpillar
The next stage is the larva. This is also called a caterpillar if the insect is a butterfly or a moth. The job of the caterpillar is to eat and eat and eat. As the caterpillar grows it splits its skin and sheds it about 4 or 5 times.
What animal undergoes complete metamorphosis?
Flies, butterflies, caddisflies, bees, ants, beetles and a large majority of insects undergo complete metamorphosis (more than 85 per cent of species).
What are the four stages of metamorphosis?
Butterflies, moths, beetles, flies and bees have complete metamorphosis. The young (called a larva instead of a nymph) is very different from the adults. It also usually eats different types of food. There are four stages in the metamorphosis of butterflies and moths: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
Are dragonflies metamorphosis?
Dragonflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis, which includes three stages of development (egg, larva and adult) unlike butterflies which undergo a four-stage, complete metamorphosis (egg, larva, pupa and adult.)
Where can you find metamorphosis in an insect?
HOLOMETABOLA This type of metamorphosis is found in endopterygotes, namely, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Siphonoptera, Diptera, Trichoptera etc. Larvae and adults are completely different in general feature and eat different type of food and live in a different type of habitat.
What is the name of the stage of metamorphosis?
When the immature insects and the adults have different forms, the process is called complete metamorphosis, and the worm, or grub, like juvenile insects are called larvae. After the last larval instar, the insect changes into a pupa. In this stage, the insect does not feed or move around much. It may be covered by a protective cocoon.
When does the sexually mature adult of the Lepidoptera emerge?
Once the pupa has completed its metamorphosis, a sexually mature adult emerges. The Lepidoptera have, over millions of years, evolved a wide range of wing patterns and coloration ranging from drab moths akin to the related order Trichoptera, to the brightly colored and complex-patterned butterflies.
When does an adult insect change into a nymph?
Metamorphosis: The changes in form that occur as an insect approaches adulthood. When the immature insects and the adults are similar in appearance, the process is called simple metamorphosis, and the juvenile insects are called nymphs.