lar·va

(lär′və)

n. pl. lar·vae (-vē) or lar·vas

a. The newly hatched, wingless, often wormlike form of many insects, developing into a pupa in species that undergo complete metamorphosis.

b. The six-legged immature form of a tick or mite.

2. The newly hatched, earliest form of any of various animals that undergo metamorphosis, differing markedly in appearance from the adult.

3. Roman Mythology A malevolent spirit of the dead.

[Latin lārva, specter, mask (because it acts as a specter of or a mask for the adult form).]

lar′val adj.

Word History: The word larva referring to the newly hatched form of insects before they undergo metamorphosis comes from the Latin word lārva, meaning "evil spirit, ghost, demon." The Latin word also was used to mean "a terrifying mask," such as one that might have been worn by a Roman performer in the role of such an evil spirit. In the 1600s and 1700s, scientists began to use the Latin word to describe the stage in an insect's life during which its final form is still hidden—the larval stage is a mask, so to speak, that the insect will later remove to reveal its adult appearance.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

larva

(ˈlɑːvə)

n, pl -vae (-viː)

(Zoology) an immature free-living form of many animals that develops into a different adult form by metamorphosis

[C18: (C17 in the original Latin sense: ghost): New Latin]

ˈlarval adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lar•va

(ˈlɑr və)

n., pl. -vae (-vi)

1. the immature, wingless, feeding stage of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis.

2. any animal in an analogous immature form.

3. the young of any invertebrate animal.

[1645–55; < New Latin; Latin larva ghost, mask (akin to Lar); compare imago]

lar′val, adj.

lar·va

(lär′və)

Plural larvae (lär′vē) or larvas

1. An animal in an early stage of development that differs greatly in appearance from its adult stage. Larvae are adapted to a different environment and way of life than adults and go through a process of metamorphosis in changing to adults. Tadpoles are the larvae of frogs and toads.

2. The immature, wingless, and usually worm-like feeding form of those insects that undergo three stages of metamorphosis, such as butterflies, moths, and beetles. Insect larvae hatch from eggs, later turn into pupae, and finally turn into adults. Compare imago, nymph, pupa.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

larva - the immature free-living form of most invertebrates and amphibians and fish which at hatching from the egg is fundamentally unlike its parent and must metamorphose

animal, animate being, beast, creature, fauna, brute - a living organism characterized by voluntary movement

ascidian tadpole - free-swimming larva of ascidians; they have a tail like a tadpole that contains the notochord

bladder worm - encysted saclike larva of the tapeworm

cercaria - tadpole-shaped parasitic larva of a trematode worm; tail disappears in adult stage

wireworm - wormlike larva of various elaterid beetles; feeds on roots of many crop plants

mealworm - the larva of beetles of the family Tenebrionidae

wiggler, wriggler - larva of a mosquito

jointworm, strawworm - larva of chalcid flies injurious to the straw of wheat and other grains

ant lion, antlion, doodlebug - the larva of any of several insects

aphid lion, aphis lion - carnivorous larva of lacewing flies

dobson, hellgrammiate - large brown aquatic larva of the dobsonfly; used as fishing bait

caseworm - insect larva that constructs a protective case around its body

caterpillar - a wormlike and often brightly colored and hairy or spiny larva of a butterfly or moth

nymph - a larva of an insect with incomplete metamorphosis (as the dragonfly or mayfly)

leptocephalus - slender transparent larva of eels and certain fishes

bot - botfly larva; typically develops inside the body of a horse or sheep or human

grub - a soft thick wormlike larva of certain beetles and other insects

polliwog, pollywog, tadpole - a larval frog or toad

Translations

يَرَقانَه

larva

larve

toukka

lirfa

larva

kūniņa

larve

larva

личинка

larv

kurtçuklârva

幼虫

larva

[ˈlɑːvə] N (larvae (pl)) [ˈlɑːviː] → larva f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

larva

[ˈlɑː^rvə] [larvae] [ˈlɑː^rviː] (pl) n → larve f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

larva

n pl <-e> → Larve f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

larva

[ˈlɑːvə] n (larvae (pl)) [ˈlɑːviː] → larva

larva

(ˈlaːvə) – plural ˈlarvae (-viː) – noun

a developing insect in its first stage after coming out of the egg; a grub or caterpillar.

ˈlarval adjective

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

The result is that the caterpillar is paralyzed, but not immediately killed, the advantage of this being that the larva cannot be injured by any movement of the caterpillar, upon which the egg is deposited, and is provided with fresh meat when the time comes.

Peckham have shown that the sting of the wasp is NOT UNERRING, as Fabre alleges, that the number of stings is NOT CONSTANT, that sometimes the caterpillar is NOT PARALYZED, and sometimes it is KILLED OUTRIGHT, and that THE DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT APPARENTLY MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO THE LARVA, which is not injured by slight movements of the caterpillar, nor by consuming food decomposed rather than fresh caterpillar."

"The larva of the Lomechusa beetle eats the young of the ants, in whose nest it is reared.

View in context

The abdomen under the wings of the butterfly still represents the larva. This is the tidbit which tempts his insectivorous fate.

View in context

Here he looks to find a tiny particle of the demolished larva, ofttimes not more than a speck of moisture.

View in context

The larva disposed of, he glanced from the corner of an eye at Korak.

View in context

Any change in the embryo or larva will almost certainly entail changes in the mature animal.

View in context

For each larva, a single video frame with the larvae in the correct orientation (ciliated groove upward) was extracted and used to estimate larval volume as above.

Diel variation in the sizes of larvae of Bugula neritina in field populations

For researchers at the microscope, who following length and height measurement are faced with the decision of whether the length-height data for a larva fits certain specified criteria, the length-height ratio with standard deviation provides a convenient single number to assist in the decision making process.

Morphological identification of larval king scallops, Pecten maximus (L.) from natural plankton samples

After providing the chewed-up mush, a regular nursemaid takes a break to groom herself, then returns to the larva and regurgitates liquefied food and saliva for it.

Males as nannies? First test for wasps' hidden baby-care skills

Although characteristic clinical manifestations could be very indicative of gnathostomosis, up to now confirmation through identification of larvae has been mandatory; nevertheless, larva identification is rare, and a combination of such factors as permanent residence or recent visit to a disease-endemic area, history of eating raw fish, exclusion of other diseases, and results of serologic tests can be taken into account in establishing a definitive diagnosis.

Gnathostomosis, an Emerging Foodborne Zoonotic Disease in Acapulco, Mexico

Although egg energy is an important parameter in these models, it is clearly relevant to consider not only the raw amount of energy available in the egg, but also the rate at which that energy is consumed by the larva (e.g., Marsh and Manahan, 1999).

How does metabolic rate scale with egg size? An experimental test with sea urchin embryos