biology daily - the biology and biochemistry encyclopedia
biology daily articles and research Encyclopedia Dictionary Forums biology research links Weblinks Pictures Articles Blogs Newsletter

Larva

A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians).

The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly. Larvae often have special (larval) organs which do not occur in the adult form. The larvae of some species can become pubescent without actually developing into the adult form (for example, in some newts). This is called neoteny.

Names of various kinds of larvae:

Fresh-water musselGlochidium
Many crustaceansNauplius
DecapodZoea
Butterfly, mothCaterpillar
BeetleGrub
FlyMaggot
MosquitoWriggler
BeeSchadon
LampreyAmmocoete
EelLeptocephalus
FrogPolliwog
ToadTadpole



06-01-2009 23:10:04
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. How to see transparent copy
BiologyDaily.com 2005. Legal info   Privacy