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🦋 Complete and Incomplete Metamorphosis

Some insects change completely as they grow, and some change bit by bit. Compare the two ways insects grow up, from caterpillars to nymphs.

lessons

~15 min

to learn

🔬 Science

subject

Ages 6–12

level

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What you’ll learn

Growing Up as an InsectLearn what metamorphosis is and that insects grow up in two main ways.Metamorphosis is a change in body shape as an insect grows from young to adult. Because their hard shell cannot stretch, insects shed their skin to grow, and many change form. There are two main kinds: complete metamorphosis, with four stages and a full change, and incomplete metamorphosis, with three stages and a gradual change.
Complete MetamorphosisFollow the four stages of complete metamorphosis and the special role of the pupa.Complete metamorphosis has four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult, and the young looks nothing like the adult. A butterfly starts as an egg, hatches into a leaf-eating caterpillar, forms a pupa where its body rebuilds completely, then emerges as a winged adult. Beetles, bees, and flies grow this way too.
Incomplete MetamorphosisFollow the three stages of incomplete metamorphosis and compare it with complete metamorphosis.Incomplete metamorphosis has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult, with no pupa. The nymph looks like a small adult and moults its skin until it is fully grown, as in grasshoppers, dragonflies, and cockroaches. Compared with complete metamorphosis, it has fewer stages, no pupa, and a young that already resembles the adult.

Questions this course answers

What does metamorphosis mean?

Metamorphosis is a change in body shape as an animal grows from young to adult.

How many stages does complete metamorphosis have?

Complete metamorphosis has four stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

Which stage is found in complete metamorphosis but NOT in incomplete metamorphosis?

The pupa is the resting, rebuilding stage that only complete metamorphosis has.

What is the young stage of a grasshopper called?

In incomplete metamorphosis the young is a nymph, which looks like a small adult.

How is a nymph different from a caterpillar?

A nymph looks like a small version of the adult, while a caterpillar looks nothing like the adult butterfly.

Which insect grows through incomplete metamorphosis?

A grasshopper hatches as a nymph and has no pupa, so it shows incomplete metamorphosis.

Grounded in trusted sources

National Geographic Kids
Smithsonian Institution
Britannica Kids
BBC Bitesize

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