'Holometabolism', also called 'complete
metamorphism', is a term applied to insect groups to describe the specific kind of insect development which includes four life stages - as an
embryo, a
larva, a
pupa and an
imago. For example, in the life cycle of a
butterfly, the embryo grows within the egg, hatching into the larval stage
caterpillar, before entering the pupal stage within its
chrysalis and finally emerging as an adult butterfly imago.
The superorder
Endopterygota groups holometabolic insects. Orders in the superorder are :
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Coleoptera - Beetles
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Diptera - Flies
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Hymenoptera - Ants, bees, sawflies and wasps
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Lepidoptera - Butterflies and moths
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Mecoptera - Scorpionflies
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Megaloptera - Alderflies, dobsonflies and fishflies
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Miomoptera ''(extinct)''
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Neuroptera - Lacewings, dobsonflies, etc.
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Protodiptera ''(extinct)''
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Raphidioptera - Snakeflies
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Siphonaptera - Fleas
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Strepsiptera - Twisted-winged parasites
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Trichoptera - Caddisflies
See also
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Hemimetabolism
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Ametabolism
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Metamorphosis
External links
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Metamorphosis - A remarkable change