larva

Noun

larva (plural larvae or larvas or (archaic) larvæ)

1. An early stage of growth for insects and some amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless and resemble a caterpillar or grub, and amphibians lack limbs and resemble fish.
   • The habits of the second nymphal stage are likewise similar to those of the larva stage.1923, Bulletin of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, page 6
   • Several possible explanations are advanced for a large decrease in numbers between the egg and larva stage, namely, drift of larvae from the sampling station, escape through the meshes of the net, sinking below the surface layers, and loss from mortality. A seasonally erratic egg to larva ratio is...1954, Contribution - Hawaii Marine Laboratory, page 186
2. An animal in the aforementioned stage.
   • The young larva bores into the tissue of a tobacco leaf, usually near the place where it has emerged from the egg, in cases where the egg was laid on a leaf, and mines into the leaf.1920, Memoirs of the Department of Agriculture in India, page 84
   • What does a mountain newt larva eat?2020, Anne Sagner, Ichthy, diary of a newt larva, page 4
3. A form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.
   • In water of 5-6° C, herring hatch in about 22 days, at 11-12° C in 8–10 days. The newly hatched larva is about 6–8 mm long and at first depends on the food reserves of the yolk-sac.1968, R. V. Tait, F. A. Dipper, Elements of Marine Ecology, page 344
   • Breeding females of both the Lophogastrida and Mysida carry their embryos and larvae in a marsupium, within which their entire embryonic and larval development takes place.2014, Joel W. Martin, Jørgen Olesen, Jens T. Høeg, Atlas of Crustacean Larvae, page 199
4. (figuratively) A preliminary stage of someone or something, before it has fully matured, especially a time of growth rather than one of performance.
   • In the fourteenth we find, but still in Latin, a quasi-historical drama, in the larva stage of monologue recitation, founded on a subject from the national annals—that of Ezzelino, tyrant-duke of Padua.1883, The Edinburgh Review - Volume 158, page 64
   • Man's larva stage is first announced by strong pathetic squalls; — Conscious knowledge of his helplessness, — dependency, appalls, — Evokes maternal sympathy,— for him she will provide,— Most proud mother, happy parent, as he nestles by her side.1909, Frederick Joseph Duggan, Infinity ; Or, Nature's God, page 58