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# larva

«larva» in Mova's school dictionary: **The young form of an insect (and some other animals, like…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 1 sentence of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a larva, larvae)

### meaning for a pupil

The young form of an insect (and some other animals, like frogs and fish) after it hatches from the egg and before it changes into an adult; it often looks like a worm, such as a caterpillar or a maggot. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In science: life cycles — egg, larva, pupa, adult — this is complete metamorphosis (butterflies, beetles, flies). Caterpillars are butterfly larvae; maggots are fly larvae; tadpoles are sometimes called frog larvae. Phrases: «insect larvae», «mosquito larvae», «the larva stage».

### examples

- A caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x1)
- The larva hatched from a tiny egg. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x2)
- Mosquito larvae live in still water. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x3)
- The larva eats and grows before it becomes a pupa. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x4)
- Maggots are the larvae of flies. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x5)
- We drew the life cycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x6)
- Ladybird larvae look like tiny spiky crocodiles. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/#x7)

### note

Plural: larvae (said LAR-vee), from Latin; «larvas» is rare. Adjective: larval. Do not confuse with «lava» (hot melted rock from a volcano).

### In the corpora

- [Weaver ants sew leaves into nests, holding their own larvae like glue sticks that spin silk.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/2/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «larva» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/L/larva/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.