Larva

For other uses, see Larva (disambiguation).

The caterpillar of Proserpinus proserpina, an insect larva

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

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 and not further develop into the adult form (for example, in some newts). This is a type of neoteny.

Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall Fly larva

It is a misunderstanding that the larval form always reflects the group's evolutionary history. It could be the case, but often the larval stage has evolved secondarily, as in insects. In these cases the larval form might differ more from the group's common origin than the adult form.

The early life stages of most fish species are considerably different from juveniles and adults of their species and are called larvae.

Names of various kinds of larvae:

Animal	Name of larva
Hydrozoa	planula
Many crustaceans	nauplius
Decapoda	zoea
Mayflies, Grasshoppers, True Bugs, etc.	nymph
Dragonflies, Damselflies	naiad, nymph
Butterflies and moths	caterpillar
Beetles, Bees, Wasps	grub
Flies	maggot
Mosquitos	wriggler
Certain molluscs, annelids	trochophore
Certain molluscs	veliger
Freshwater mussels	glochidium
Lamprey	ammocoete
Fish (generally)	larva
Eels	leptocephalus
Amphibians	tadpole, polliwog
Echinoderms	Bipinnaria