Two Ways Insects Grow Up

Science · Insects & Minibeasts · ages 9-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

A grasshopper hatches from an egg into a nymph. Which type of metamorphosis is this?
- Complete
- Incomplete
- Neither
Which stage comes right after egg in complete metamorphosis?
- Larva
- Nymph
- Pupa
A larva looks like a small copy of the adult insect.
Circle one: True False
This diagram shows an insect's stages: egg, nymph, nymph, adult. What type of metamorphosis is this?
- Incomplete
- Complete
- Neither
Which insect below goes through incomplete metamorphosis?
- Butterfly
- Beetle
- Dragonfly
Which two of these insects share the same type of metamorphosis: fly, cricket, beetle?
- Fly and cricket
- Fly and beetle
- Cricket and beetle
How many of these insects use complete metamorphosis: butterfly, grasshopper, beetle, dragonfly, fly, cricket?
Answer: ______________
Mia says: 'A ladybird's young stage looks just like a tiny ladybird, so ladybirds must have incomplete metamorphosis.' What is wrong with her thinking?
- She's right, ladybirds are incomplete
- Ladybirds have no young stage at all
- Ladybird larvae actually look nothing like the adult, so ladybirds are complete

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Incomplete · Grasshoppers hatch into nymphs and skip the pupa stage, so this is incomplete metamorphosis.
Larva · Complete metamorphosis goes egg, larva, pupa, adult. Larva comes second.
False · A larva looks completely different from the adult. It's the nymph that looks like a mini adult.
Incomplete · There's no pupa stage and the young stage is called a nymph, so this is incomplete metamorphosis.
Dragonfly · Dragonflies hatch as nymphs that already look like small dragonflies, so they skip the pupa stage.
Fly and beetle · Flies and beetles both go through complete metamorphosis with a pupa stage. Crickets are incomplete, like grasshoppers.
3 · Butterfly, beetle, and fly all go through a pupa stage, so that's 3 insects with complete metamorphosis. The other three are incomplete.
Ladybird larvae actually look nothing like the adult, so ladybirds are complete · Ladybird larvae look very different from the adult beetle, so ladybirds go through complete metamorphosis with a pupa stage.