larva

A tropical moth larva in a Costa Rican rainforest. The larva is shown eating; this stage is the main nutritive stage of a moth's or a butterfly's life cycle. The larva will metamorphose into a pupa; during the pupal stage, the insect will rest for days, weeks, or even months, before emerging as an adult moth.

Stage between hatching and adulthood in those species in which the young have a different appearance and way of life from the adults. Examples include tadpoles (frogs) and caterpillars (butterflies and moths). Larvae are typical of the invertebrates, some of which (for example, shrimps) have two or more distinct larval stages. Among vertebrates, it is only the amphibians and some fishes that have a larval stage.

The process whereby the larva changes into another stage, such as a pupa (chrysalis) or adult, is known as metamorphosis.