Larva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A larva (plural larvae /lrvi/) is a distinct juvenile form many

animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals
with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or
cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult
form (e.g. caterpillars and butterflies). A larva often has unique
structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their
diet may also be considerably different.

Larva of Papilio xuthus, butterfly

Larvae are frequently adapted to environments separate from adults. For example, some larvae such as
tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living
in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources
with the adult population.
Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some species
like barnacles, adults are immobile but their larvae are mobile, and use their mobile larval form to distribute
themselves.
Some larvae are dependent on adults to feed them. In many eusocial Hymenoptera species, the larvae are fed
by female workers. In Ropalidia marginata (a paper wasp) the males are also capable of feeding larvae but
they are much less efficient, spending more time and getting less food to the larvae.[1]
The larvae of some species (for example, some newts) can become pubescent and do not develop further
into the adult form. This is a type of neoteny.
It is a misunderstanding that the larval form always reflects the
group's evolutionary history. This could be the case, but often the
larval stage has evolved secondarily, as in insects. In these cases the
larval form may differ more than the adult form from the group's
common origin.

Contents
1 Selected types of larvae
2 See also
3 References
4 External links
5 Bibliography

Eurosta solidaginis Goldenrod Gall

Fly larva

Selected types of larvae

Animal

Name of larva

Porifera (sponges)

coeloblastula larvae (= blastula larvae), parenchymula (=

parenchymella), amphiblastula

Heterocyemida

Wagener's larva

Dicyemida

infusoriform larva

Cnidarians

planula, actinula

Ctenophora

cydippid larvae

Platyhelminthes

Gttes larva, Mller's larva, miracidium, oncomiracidium,

coracidium, redia, cercaria

Annelida

nectochaeta, polytroch

Nematoda

Dauer larva

Sipuncula

pelagosphera larva

Ectoprocta

cyphonautes, vesiculariform larvae

Nematomorpha

nematomorphan larva

Phoronids

actinotroch

Cycliophora

pandora, chordoid larva

Nemertea

pilidium, Iwata larva, Desor larva

Acanthocephala

acanthor

Locifera

Higgins larva

Brachiopoda

lobate larva

Priapula

loricate larva

Certain molluscs, annelids,

nemerteans and sipunculids

trochophore

Certain molluscs

veliger

Mollusca: freshwater Bivalvia

(mussels)

glochidium

Arthropoda: Trilobita

protaspis (unjointed), meraspis (increasing number of joints, but 1 less

than the holaspis), holaspis (=adult)[2]

Arthropoda: Xiphosura

euprops larva ("trilobite larva")

Arthropoda: Pycnogonida

protonymphon

Crustaceans

nauplius, metanauplius, protozoea, antizoea, pseudozoea, zoea,

postlarva, cypris, primary larva, mysis

Crustacea: Decapoda

zoea

Insecta: Lepidoptera (butterflies

and moths)

caterpillar

Insecta: Beetles

grub

Insecta: Flies, Bees, Wasps

maggot

Insecta: Mosquitoes

wriggler

Deuterostomes

dipleurula (hypothetical larva)

Echinodermata

bipinnaria, vitellaria, brachiollaria, pluteus, ophiopluteus,

echinopluteus, auricularia

Hemichordata

tornaria

Urochordata

tadpole (does not feed, technically a "swimming embryo")

Fish (generally)

larva

Fish: Petromyzontiformes
(lamprey)

ammocoete

Fish: Anguilliformes (eels)

leptocephalus

Amphibians

tadpole, polliwog

Mammal

Puggle/Joey

See also
Crustacean larvae
Ichthyoplankton
Spawn (biology)
Ecdysis
Instar, intermediate between each ecdysis
Other non-larval juveniles (immature forms):
Paralarva, young cephalopods
Nymphs and naiads, immature forms in hemimetabolous insects
Subimago, a juvenile that resembles the adult in Ephemeroptera
Pupa and chrysalis, intermediate between larva and imago
Imago, final stage
Marine larval ecology

References
1. Sen, R; Gadagkar, R (2006). "Males of the social wasp Ropalidia marginata can feed larvae, given an opportunity".
Animal Behavior 71: 345350. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.04.022.
2. Moore, R.C. (1959). Arthropoda I - Arthropoda General Features, Proarthropoda, Euarthropoda General Features,
Trilobitomorpha. Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology. Part O. Boulder, Colorado/Lawrence, Kansas: Geological
Society of America/University of Kansas Press. pp. O121, O122, O125. ISBN 0-8137-3015-5.

External links
Media related to Larva at Wikimedia Commons
The dictionary definition of larva at Wiktionary
Arenas-Mena, C. (2010) Indirect development, transdifferentiation and the macroregulatory evolution
of metazoans. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Feb 27, 2010
Vol.365 no.1540 653-669 (http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/365/1540/653.full)
Larva Season 1 Full HD (http://doremon.us/phim-hoat-hinh-larva-phan-1-tron-bo)

Bibliography
Brusca, R. C. & Brusca, G. J. (2003). Invertebrates (2nd ed.). Sunderland, Mass. : Sinauer Associates.
Hall, B. K. & Wake, M. H. (1999, eds.). The Origin and Evolution of Larval Forms. San Diego:

Academic Press.
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Categories: Developmental biology
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