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Glite Dictionary
hemimetamorphosis

hemimetamorphosis

9.9
A way some insects grow, like grasshoppers, where young look like adults but lack wings and adult sex organs
  • noun
  • /ˌhɛmɪˌmɛtəˈmɔrfəsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : hemimetamorfosis
  • Grasshoppers undergo hemimetamorphosis, with nymphs resembling miniature adults.

Examples

  • Unlike butterflies, which have a pupal stage, true bugs experience hemimetamorphosis during their life cycle.

  • During hemimetamorphosis, the young insects look like miniature adults.

  • Dragonflies exhibit hemimetamorphosis as they develop from aquatic larvae to winged adults.

  • The hemimetamorphosis process occurs in insects like grasshoppers.

  • Dragonflies exhibit hemimetamorphosis as they develop from aquatic larvae to winged adults.

  • Grasshoppers undergo hemimetamorphosis, with nymphs resembling miniature adults.

  • Unlike butterflies, which have a pupal stage, true bugs experience hemimetamorphosis during their life cycle.

Synonyms

hemimetabolism
vshemimetamorphosis
  • Specialized
9.9

A way some insects grow where the young look like adults but get wings only in the last stage

focuses on adults lacking fully formed wings and reproductive organs with no pupal stage
hemimetaboly
vshemimetamorphosis
  • Specialized
9.9

Insects develop through nymph stages that look like small adults and there is no pupa

highlights juveniles that resemble adults but lack wings and reproductive organs
heterometabolism
vshemimetamorphosis
  • Specialized
9.9

Development in some insects where young change into adults without a pupal stage like a chrysalis

also involves young resembling adults but stresses missing adult wings and organs
heterometaboly
vshemimetamorphosis
  • Specialized
9.9

A way some insects grow where young look like small adults and there is no pupa

emphasizes juveniles that look like adults but lack wings and reproductive organs

Surface Forms

hemimetamorphosis singular
hemimetamorphoses plural

Morphology

hemimetamorphosis = metamorphosis (semi-transparent) = hemi + metamorphosis + hemi

Formed from 'hemi-' (partial) + 'metamorphosis'; the biological sense 'incomplete metamorphosis' is logical but 'hemi-' is a technical combining form that may be unfamiliar to general learners.

Etymology

Hemimetamorphosis breaks into hemi- 'half', meta- 'change', and -morphosis 'form', like hemisphere and the common word metamorphosis. That's why hemimetamorphosis describes a 'half change' in insects: their young look like small adults but only partly become the adult form, missing full wings or adult body parts before they are grown.