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

The cockroach, like the grasshopper and the locust, only undergoes an incomplete metamorphosis.

From Project Gutenberg

Another name for the larva of insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis is nymph.

From Project Gutenberg

Egg, nymph, adult,—those are the stages of insects that have an incomplete metamorphosis.

From Project Gutenberg

Who remembers what the young of insects that undergo an incomplete metamorphosis are sometimes called?

From Project Gutenberg

Homotenous: retaining the primitive form: applied to insects without or with an incomplete metamorphosis.

From Project Gutenberg