imaginal disc

Noun

imaginal disc (plural imaginal discs)

1. Any of several pairs of discs within the body of a larva that become part of the outside during the pupal stage of holometabolism (complete metamorphosis).
   • The arrangement of the imaginal discs (buds) in situ in the anterior of the larva of P. brassicae has been illustrated by Gonin (1894) and their development has been shown in a series of six diagrams by Mercier in Portier (1949).1982, John Feltwell, Large White Butterfly: The Biology, Biochemistry, and Physiology of Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus), Kluwer Academic (Dr W. Junk Publishers), page 142
   • Experiments in which cells have been selectively destroyed by X-irradiation have shown that formation of imaginal discs occurs very early in embryogenesis and at specific sites.2005, Cedric Gillott, Entomology, 3rd edition, Springer, page 634