Endopterygota

Translingual
Inachis io (Lepidoptera), emerging from a chrysalis (pupa)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἔνδον (éndon, “inner”) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”) + New Latin -ota (“having”), reflecting the fact that the nymphs (larvae) of winged species bear their wing rudiments internally; compare Exopterygota.

Proper noun

Endopterygota

  1. A taxonomic superorder within the infraclass Neoptera – various winged insects that undergo radical metamorphosis.

Usage notes

Endopterygota typically undergo a "complete" metamorphosis, during which their wings develop internally during the pupal phase and appear in the emerging adult. The grouping is thus also called Holometabola. Contrast this with the Exopterygota (in which the wings develop externally and the pupal stage is omitted) and Apterygota (which are primitively wingless). Note that fleas, for example, are not primitively wingless, but are descended from winged insects.

The complete metamorphosic life cycle is: egg → larva → pupa → adult or imago.

Synonyms

See also

References
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