Meaning & use
larva
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Meanings
nouncountablebiology
The young, worm-like stage of an insect that hatches from the egg and later changes into an adult, such as a caterpillar or a grub.
Grammar: Countable; the plural is larvae: one larva, many larvae.
Patterns
- the larva of an insect
- a larva hatches
A caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly or a moth.
The farmer found a white larva in the soil.
Each mosquito larva lives in still water until it becomes an adult.
nouncountablebiology
The early form of other animals, such as frogs or crabs, that looks very different from the adult.
Grammar: Used for non-insects too: a frog larva is called a tadpole.
Patterns
- the larva of an animal
- a free-swimming larva
A tadpole is the larva of a frog.
The crab larva drifts in the sea before settling on the shore.
Marine biologists collected larvae of sea urchins in a net.
Word forms
| plural | larvae |
|---|
Common combinations
- insect larva
- An insect larva needs a lot of food before changing form.
- larva hatches
- When the larva hatches, it begins eating the leaf.
- feed on larvae
- Birds feed on larvae during the spring.
- mosquito larvae
- Mosquito larvae grow in standing water.
- larva stage
- The beetle spends two years in the larva stage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- grub
- Grub is an everyday word for a soft, fat beetle larva, while larva is the scientific term for any young form.
- caterpillar
- Caterpillar names only the larva of a butterfly or moth, while larva includes many other animals.
- maggot
- Maggot names a fly larva, often found in decaying food, and has a stronger negative feel than larva.
- nymph
- A nymph is the young form of insects like dragonflies that look like small adults, while a larva looks completely different from the adult.
Opposites
Word family
- larvae noun
- the plural form
- larval adjective
- relating to the larva stage
- larvicide noun
- a chemical used to kill larvae
- pupa noun
- the stage after the larva, before the adult
Commonly confused: larva or lava? larva or pupa?
larva vs lava
Lava is hot melted rock from a volcano, while a larva is a young insect or animal stage.
larva vs pupa
A pupa is the resting stage between a larva and the adult, while a larva is the active feeding stage before it.
Practice
What is the plural of larva?
Choose one answer.
Larva comes from Latin and keeps its Latin plural, larvae. Larvas is not standard, and larvaes and larvi are incorrect.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “larva”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.