How to use larva in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun

Larva means 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. Example: “Those little wriggling worms are the larvae of flies who laid eggs here.”

Examples of larva by meaning

nounAn early stage of growth for insects and some amphibians, in which after hatching from their egg, insects are wingless...

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
A seasonally erratic egg to larva ratio is pointed out.1954, Contribution - Hawaii Marine Laboratory, page 186

nounAn 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

nounA form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.

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

nounA preliminary stage of someone or something, before it has fully matured, especially a time of growth rather than one...

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
The larva stage of the child's mind demands much forage material.1910 November, “Teaching Pupils to Study”, in The Louisiana School Review, volume 18, number 3, page 132
The larva stage possesses a libido of nutrition, if I may so express it, but not yet the libido sexualis.1915, Nervous and Mental Disease Monographs - Volumes 19-22 -, page 34

More sentences with larva

Those little wriggling worms are the larvae of flies who laid eggs here.From the entry worm
There was a small trough that the sump pump emptied into; it was filled with mosquito larvae.From the entry trough
Weevil larvae are apodous; in contrast, most scarab larvae bear six hooklike legs.From the entry apodous
Limnophilid larvae are fitted for life in almost every aquatic situation.From the entry limnophilid
Most tiger beetle larvae tunnel in the soil.From the entry tiger beetle
Temefos is an organophosphorus insecticide used to control mosquito, midge, and black-fly larvae in lakes, ponds, and wetland habitats.From the entry temefos
That is mosquito larvae from the Aedes aegypti, or yellow fever mosquitoes.2024 October 7, Rachel Wulff, “Invasive yellow fever mosquitoes detected across Sacramento area”, in CBS Sacramento, Sacramento, archived…. From the entry yellow-fever mosquito
Larvated eggs are passed in the feces and are ingested by fly larvae intermediate hosts.2021, Anne M. Zajac, Gary A. Conboy, Susan E. Little, Veterinary Clinical Parasitology, page 136. From the entry larvated
In particular, there is no information on the activity of the anthelmintic against hypobiotic larvae in tissues.2016 January 20, “Anthelmintic Treatment Does Not Change Foraging Strategies of Female Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Macropus giganteus”, in…. From the entry hypobiotic
The fixed larvae were dissociated into fine pieces by pippetting in 50% acetic acid.2015, Xiaoting Huang et al., “Genomic in situ hybridization identifies parental chromosomes in hybrid scallop (Bivalvia, Pectinoida…. From the entry pippetting
The eggs embryonate, but the larvae die before hatching ( b ).2015 August 19, Christian Heim et al., “Inhibition of Haemonchus contortus larval development by fungal lectins”, in Parasites & Vectors…. From the entry embryonate
Larval proctotrupids are mostly parasitoids of litter or rotten wood-inhabiting larvae.2015, Vladimir V. Gouli, Concise Illustrated Dictionary of Biocontrol Terms, page 116. From the entry proctotrupid
Rose slugs are the larvae of sawflies, non-stinging members of the wasp family.2015, Peter Kukielski, Roses Without Chemicals: 150 Disease-Free Varieties That Will Change the Way You Grow Roses. From the entry rose slug
Many echinoderms are still bilateral as larvae, and swim freely in the ocean like baby fish.2012, Caspar Henderson, The Book of Barely Imagined Beings, Granta Books, published 2013, page 47. From the entry echinoderm
A single syrphid larva can consume hundreds of aphids during its development.2012, Steve H. Dreistadt, Integrated Pest Management for Citrus, Third Edition, page 94. From the entry syrphid
Syrphid larvae also feed on other soft-bodied insects, such as mealybugs, psyllids, and whiteflies.2012, Steve H. Dreistadt, Integrated Pest Management for Citrus, Third Edition, page 94. From the entry syrphid
Springing like a self-styled cobra, the tiny larva will strike from time to time.2012, Richard Faulk, Gross America: Your Coast-to-Coast Guide to All Things Gross (ebook), Penguin Publishing Group, page 145. From the entry dismalite
Its casing was packed solid with a yellow-white froth of ant eggs and larvae.2010, Steve Ringwood, Astronomers Anonymous. From the entry antish
Antennae of first instar larvae comprised a smooth four-segmented basiflagellum and a seven-segmented, sensilla-rich distiflagellum.2009 March, Dorit Hockman, Mike D. Picker, Klaus-Dieter Klass, Leonie Pretorius, “Postembryonic development of the unique antenna of…. From the entry basiflagellum
Larvae use setiform thoracic legs and a suranal hook to help propel themselves along, aided by silk.2006, James T. Costa, The Other Insect Societies, →ISBN, page 654. From the entry suranal
The protonymph (or nymphochrysalis) molts in the cuticula of the larva without hatching.2004, Arne R. Panesar, “Evolution in Water Mites (Hydrachnellae, Actinedidia, Acari)”, in Bonner zoologische Monographien, number 52…. From the entry nymphochrysalis
Meloids are herbivorous as adults, and their larvae are parasites of bees or eat grasshopper eggs.2002, Frank N. Young, Jr.; Gene Kritsky, A Survey of Entomology, page 200. From the entry meloid
Larvae of Dascillus are found in moist soil or under rocks.2002, Ross H. Arnett, American Beetles, Volume II. From the entry dascillid
The first-stage larvae of C. coperniciae are similar to diaspidid crawlers.2001, F. W. Howard, Insects on Palms, page 223. From the entry diaspidid
Second-instar larvae are heavily sclerotized, with distinct truncate abdomens, and, unlike second-instar diaspidids, have functional legs.2001, F. W. Howard, Insects on Palms, page 223. From the entry diaspidid
The larvae most likely to be confused with trichiurids are paralepidids and gempylids.2000, F. J. Gago, J. M. Leis, T. Trnski, “111: Trichiuridae”, in Jeffrey Martin Leis, Brooke M. Carson-Ewart, editors, The Larvae of…. From the entry gempylid
Since hookworm larvae can be transmitted through a mother's milk, infestations can kill infants.1996 October 6, William Hathaway, “PARASITE LINKS MEN IN DARING VENTURE”, in Hartford Courant, archived from the original on 28 Nov 2020. From the entry hookworm
Aganaspis pelleranoi females detected host larvae mainly by sensing host movements (vibrotaxis).1994, Argentina, Rsea Sociedad Entomológica, Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 53 (1-4), page 121. From the entry vibrotaxis
Only rarely do we find a brainworm-infected moose that has larvae in its feces.1990, Maine Fish and Wildlife, volumes 32-33, page 10. From the entry brainworm
Larvae and nymphs with stubby bilobed large-clawed legs are cytophagous on epithelial cells beneath the lids.1985, Ke Chung Kim, Coevolution of parasitic arthropods and mammals, page 613. From the entry clawed
Recent hemerobiids (brown lacewings) are terrestrial insects and both adults and larvae prey on small soft-bodied arthropods.1977, Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Geology series, volume 33, page 259. From the entry hemerobiid

Meaning of larva

noun 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.
noun An animal in the aforementioned stage.
noun A form of a recently born or hatched animal that is quite different from its adult stage.

Full definition of larva

Questions about larva in a sentence

How do you use larva in a sentence?: Larva is used as a noun. For example: “Those little wriggling worms are the larvae of flies who laid eggs here.”
What is a short sentence with larva?: “What does a mountain newt larva eat?”
What does larva mean?: Larva means 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.

Adapted from Wiktionary: larva (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use larva in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/larva. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.