pupa

thumb|upright=1.6|Pupa of the rose chafer beetle, Cetonia aurata thumb|Tumbler (pupa) of a mosquito. Unlike most pupae, tumblers can swim around actively. A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of insects from the Holometabola clade undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages thereof being egg, larva, pupa, and imago. The processes of entering and completing the pupal stage are controlled by the insect's hormones, especially juvenile hormone, prothoraci

AI overview

A pupa is a stage in the life cycle of certain insects where they transform from their immature larval form into their adult form. This transformation stage is important because it allows insects like beetles and mosquitoes to completely reorganize their bodies, enabling them to develop wings, change their body structure, and transition to their adult lifestyle.

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Research

9,270 papers

The Pupa Stage Is the Most Sensitive to Hypoxia in Drosophila melanogaster.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Stobdan T, Wen NJ, Lu-Bo Y et al.DOI: 10.3390/ijms25020710
Non-CG DNA methylation marks the transition from pupa to adult in Helicoverpa armigera.Insect molecular biology · 2024Royle JW, Hurwood D, Sadowski P et al.DOI: 10.1111/imb.12917
The larva and pupa of Anabolia appendix (Ulmer 1905) (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) from China.Zootaxa · 2024Deng Z, Zang H, Wang M et al.DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5529.1.4
Anaphylactic shock caused by silkworm pupa consumption in China.ReviewAllergy · 2008Ji KM, Zhan ZK, Chen JJ et al.DOI: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2008.01838.x
Description of the larva and pupa of Culex (Melanoconion) dureti Casal & Garcia and redescription of the adult male (Diptera: Culicidae).Zootaxa · 2024Bangher DN, Almirón WR, Stein MDOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5443.2.7
Polyphenol oxidase from edible insect Antheraea pernyi pupa: Characterization and browning mechanism.Food chemistry · 2025She Y, Song S, Liu Y et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.146641
Where did the pupa come from? The timing of juvenile hormone signalling supports homology between stages of hemimetabolous and holometabolous insects.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2019Jindra MDOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0064
Prediction, identification, and analysis of major B-cell linear epitopes of bomb m 6 from silkworm pupa.Food chemistry · 2025Yue W, Huang S, Lin S et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2024.141211

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Pupae

Sources (6)

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Article

13 sections

Contents

Position in life cycle
Duration
Emergence
Pupal mating
Defense
Types
Chrysalis
Cocoon
Puparium
Gallery
See also
References
External links

The pupae of different groups of insects have different names such as chrysalis for the pupae of butterflies and tumbler for those of the mosquito family. Pupae may further be enclosed in other structures such as cocoons, nests, or shells.