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Glite Dictionary
to pupate

to pupate

2 8.1
To change from a caterpillar into an adult insect while inside a hard case
  • verb
  • /ˈpjuːpeɪt/
  • Specialized
: pupatear
  • The fly then pupates in the ant's head capsule, which is lying in the bottom of the nest among the other ants.
  • pupate and emerge

And the beetle will then grow, pupate and needs to leave.

Examples

  • The Catalpa worms aren't really worms; they are larvae, and they will pupate before winter and overwinter that way.

    Blog text (30)

  • Some caterpillars spin large amounts of silk at the end of their period of larval growth, forming a protective cocoon in which to pupate until they emerge as butterflies or moths.

    Academic text (1994)

  • Next, we asked them when they pupated.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • After 1 to 2 weeks of such feeding, the young wasps pupate, then emerge as fully formed adults in another week.

    Academic text (2004)

  • But at permanently inundated areas, they may drown when trying to find soil in which to pupate.

    Academic text (2000)

  • The three larvae in the photograph, shown actual size, are nearly ready to leave the rhino gut, pupate, and emerge as adult flies.

    Academic text (2006)

  • At the end of the third instar, the larva wriggles out of its warble, falls to the ground, and burrows into the soil to pupate.

    Academic text (2003)

  • So it's not a seasonal bug that simply, you know, pupates, forms its larvae or pupates from a larvae into a beetle, then lays eggs and dies within one year.

  • The egg quickly hatches, and the wasp larva eats all the spider eggs before pupating, leaving the unknowing female spider fiercely guarding a young wasp.

    Academic text (1991)

  • The larvae must find a safe place where they can pupate and begin their transformation into adults.

Surface Forms

pupate infinitive
pupated past
pupated past participle
pupating present participle
pupates third person singular

Morphology

pupate = pupa (transparent) = pupa + ate

Formed by the productive verb-forming suffix '-ate' added to the noun 'pupa', yielding a predictable meaning 'to become a pupa'.

Etymology

Pupate comes from pupa, a Latin word meaning 'doll', and is the same root as the English puppet. Think of a pupa as a still 'doll' while the insect changes inside, so to pupate is to become that quiet stage before the adult appears.