---
title: "Types of metamorphosis"
description: "Compare complete and incomplete metamorphosis. Complete metamorphosis has egg, larva, pupa and adult stages, as in butterflies, beetles and flies. Incomplete metamorphosis has egg, nymph and adult sta"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3.md
retrieved: 2026-11-12
---

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# Types of metamorphosis

Compare complete and incomplete metamorphosis. Complete metamorphosis has egg, larva, pupa and adult stages, as in butterflies, beetles and flies. Incomplete metamorphosis has egg, nymph and adult stages, as in grasshoppers, dragonflies and crickets. Nymphs moult as they grow, without a pupa stage. Aquatic nymphs can look quite different from adults.

Subject: Science · Area: Insects & Minibeasts · Ages 9 to 11
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3

## Ready when they can

- Compare complete and incomplete metamorphosis by describing the stages of each on a diagram
- Classify at least three insects into the correct metamorphosis type such as butterfly (complete) and grasshopper (incomplete)
- Explain that larvae differ greatly from adults, while nymphs share the adult's basic body plan but can differ in features and habitat

## Lesson: Two ways insects grow up

You have met complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa, adult. A caterpillar is a butterfly larva. It looks very different from the adult butterfly. Adult structures develop during the pupa stage. In incomplete metamorphosis, the stages are egg, nymph and adult. A nymph shares the adult's basic body plan, though its features can differ. There is no pupa stage.

*(drawing: A butterfly's caterpillar is its larva. The pupa comes between the larva and the adult.)*

*(drawing: A grasshopper moults several times during its nymph stage. Repeated moults are not separate named stages.)*

Butterflies, beetles and flies have complete metamorphosis. Ladybirds are beetles: their long larvae later become pupae and then round adults. Grasshoppers, crickets and dragonflies have incomplete metamorphosis. A dragonfly nymph lives underwater. It has six legs but looks different from the flying adult. At its final moult it becomes an adult, without entering a pupa.

A grasshopper nymph is smaller than an adult and cannot reproduce yet. It sheds its old covering in a moult, then expands before its new covering hardens. Wing buds develop as it grows. A caterpillar is a butterfly larva, not a nymph. During the pupa stage, some larval tissues break down while adult structures develop. The insect remains alive.

**Recap.** Complete metamorphosis has egg, larva, pupa and adult stages. Incomplete metamorphosis has egg, nymph and adult stages, with no pupa.

*Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.*

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Insect life cycles: complete metamorphosis](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-life-cycles-complete-metamorphosis-mt_hsN-YvCNQY)

## Opens up

- [Animal life cycles](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-life-cycles-mt_A1Xfu5p5KT)