---
title: "Types of Metamorphosis"
description: "Complete vs incomplete metamorphosis. Complete: egg → larva → pupa → adult (butterflies, beetles, flies). Incomplete: egg → nymph → adult — the nymph looks like a small version of the adult and moults"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/types-of-metamorphosis-mt_ShAptVcQR3.md
retrieved: 2026-10-19
---

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# Types of Metamorphosis

Complete vs incomplete metamorphosis. Complete: egg → larva → pupa → adult (butterflies, beetles, flies). Incomplete: egg → nymph → adult — the nymph looks like a small version of the adult and moults as it grows (grasshoppers, dragonflies, crickets). Why do some insects transform completely while others grow gradually?

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 nymphs resemble adults while larvae look completely different from their adult form

## Lesson: Two Ways Insects Grow Up

You already know complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Each stage looks totally different from the last. But not every insect grows this way. Some insects follow a different plan called incomplete metamorphosis, and their young stage is called a nymph instead of a larva.

*(drawing: A butterfly's stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, adult. Each stage looks completely different.)*

*(drawing: A grasshopper's stages: egg, nymph, nymph, adult. The nymph already looks like a small grasshopper, just without wings.)*

**Example.** A dragonfly nymph lives underwater. It already has six legs and the same basic shape as the adult dragonfly. It moults its skin several times, growing bigger each time, until it grows wings and becomes an adult.

**Tip.** Quick check: does the young insect look nothing like the adult, with a resting pupa stage in between? That's complete metamorphosis. Does it already look like a mini adult, just growing bigger through moults? That's incomplete.

**Recap.** Complete metamorphosis has four very different stages and ends with a pupa; incomplete metamorphosis skips the pupa, and its nymph already looks like a small adult.

## 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

- [Insect Adaptations](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/insect-adaptations-mt_7_XXh9NCp0)
- [Animal Life Cycles](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/animal-life-cycles-mt_A1Xfu5p5KT)