incomplete metamorphosis

[ in-kuhm-pleet met-uh-mawr-fuh-sis ]

noun

1. insect development, as in the grasshopper and cricket, in which the change is gradual and characterized by the absence of a pupal stage.

Word History and Origins

Origin of incomplete metamorphosis¹

First recorded in 1770–75

Example Sentences

Grasshoppers, cicadas, cockroaches, and yes, dragonflies, are all examples of incomplete metamorphosis, also called non-holometabolous.

From New York Times

In insects that undergo incomplete metamorphosis, levels of juvenile hormone dip before the pro-nymph molts into the nymph; in complete metamorphosis, however, juvenile hormone continues to flood the larva's body until just before it pupates.

From Scientific American

A new generation Complete metamorphosis likely evolved out of incomplete metamorphosis.

From Scientific American

They point out that insects that mature through incomplete metamorphosis pass through a brief stage of life before becoming nymphs—the pro-nymphal stage, in which insects look and behave differently from their true nymphal forms.

From Scientific American

The same gene is important for molting during the nymphal stage of incomplete metamorphosis, corroborating the equivalence of nymph and pupa.

From Scientific American