pupal
- adjective
- /ˈpjuːpəl/
- Specialized
- In the pupal stage, the insect undergoes significant transformation before becoming an adult.
- pupal stage
Examples
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You see, this is before it enters the pupal stage.
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The bucket next to her is used to rear larvae to the pupal stage.
Academic text (2001) -
In the pupal stage, the males can be irradiated to render them sexually sterile.
Academic text (2000) -
In honeybees, the first queen to emerge from her pupal cell may kill the others as they lie in their virginal wax chambers.
Academic text (2002) -
The larvae then spend three to four years burrowing inside the wood, nourishing themselves on the wood's cellulose and growing until they enter the cocoon-like pupal stage when they transform into adults.
Blog text (25) -
The time spent in the pupal stage can vary depending on the species of insect.
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During the pupal stage, the caterpillar is immobile as it undergoes metamorphosis.
How Developed
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word pupal comes from the Latin pupa, which means 'doll'. People thought the insect in this stage looked like a little 'doll' that stayed still while it changed, so pupal describes the quiet stage 'between larva and adult'.