Understanding Insect Life Cycles

What is a Life Cycle?

• A life cycle is the continuous sequence of
changes undergone by an organism from
beginning of life till death.
• Baby
• Toddler
• Child
• Teenager
• Adult
Insect Development & Life Histories
Main Points:
• Metamorphosis is a transition in form.
• With wings, most important factor in insect evolutionary progression
& diversity.
• Growth in arthropods requires molting.
• The intervals between molts are “stadia”; the form at each interval
is the “instar”.
• 4 variations of development (metamorphosis) in
insects: ametaboly, hemimetaboly, paurometaboly, and holometaboly.
• Holometaboly involves distinct larval, pupal (transitional), and
adult stages.
• Advantages of holometabolous life history include:
reduced larval-adult competition, better timing of activities
with resources, greater efficiency in both larval and adult
phases.
• Disadvantages include vulnerability of the pupal stage and
complications in larval-adult transition.
 Relative species
diversity by
Holometabolous development type
~90%

whiteflies
thrips

Hemimetabolous
~9.9%

mayflies
Ametabolous
~.1%
No Metamorphosis (Ametabola)
Egg Young Adult
• Young of ametabolous (no
metamorphosis) insects looks
exactly like the adult but may not
have the reproductive organs.

• Silverfish and Springtails have

this type of metamorphosis.
Incomplete metamorphosis (Hemimetabola)
Incomplete Metamorphosis (Paurometabola)
Egg Nymph Adult
 none partial “pads” complete

1 2
3 5 6
4

Paurometabolous development in a bug (HEMIPTERA,

Heteroptera). Each stage shows progression toward the adult
form, best tracked in the external development of the wings.

Immatures of paurometabolous insects are called

nymph
Grasshopper Life Cycle (Paurometabola)

1st
nymphal
egg instar 2nd
nymphal
3rd
instar
nymphal
instar 4th
nymphal
instar

5th
nymph nymphal
instar
adult
• Nymph: the young of an insect that undergoes
incomplete metamorphosis.
• Instars: A stage of an insect or other arthropod
between molts. Some insects go through as
many as 16 instars before becoming an adult.
• Adult: Look similar to the nymph but hasn’t
gone through a pupal stage.

naiad
Termite Life Cycle
Complete Metamorphosis (Holometabola)

Egg Larva Pupa Adult

1. Egg: insects lay eggs on leaves, in trees,
animal carcasses and in water. Some insect
eggs serve as time capsules to help the
population survive harsh conditions, not
hatching until the conditions improve.
2. Larva: the immature, wingless, feeding
stage of an insect that undergoes complete
metamorphosis.Grubs, maggots and
caterpillars are insect larvae.
DIPTERA COLEOPTERA

HYMENOPTERA

Types of larva: In terms of numbers and biomass,

most insect life at any one time consists of larvae.
From Borror, Triplehorn, & Johnson, 1989
Pupa
3. Pupa: an insect in the nonfeeding,
usually immobile, transformation stage
between the larva and the adult.
butterfly moth parasitic beetle beetle muscoid fly
wasp

A, B: obtect, C, D, E: exarate, F: coarctate,

limbs appressed limbs loose, movable enclosed in last
in some spp. larval skin
Major insect pupal types. The insect pupa
represents a stage of tissue reorganization.
Adult: Adults look very different after they
immerge from the pupa.
 Growth & holometaboly
in Danaus plexippus,
the monarch butterfy

1st instar and egg chorion

last larval instar

Chrysalis, outer cuticle is
skin of last larval instar
imago, or adult
 Hormones and Molting
Main Points
• Molting is necessary in all arthropods in order for growth to
occur; the “instar” is the particular stage, the “stadium” is
the interval between molts.
• Molting is a complicated, delicate, and precarious act.
• Molting can be divided into 7 steps, as per Evans, 1984.
• The new cuticle is formed before the old cuticle is shed; part
of the old cuticle is recycled; the new instar stretches into the
new exoskeleton.
• Major endocrine centers are the brain, corpora allata,
corpora cardiaca, & prothoracic gland.
• Major hormone groups that affect molting include juvenile
hormone (JH), ecdysial/growth hormones (ecdysone), &
prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) or the brain hormone.
Neurosecretory aspects of the
insect brain. Neurosecretory
cell clusters may contain as
few as a single cell each.

from Evans 1984

Basic hormones,
pathways, &
control of molting in
holometabolous
insects.
Basic insect cuticle structure

from Gullen & Cranston 2000

The seven basic phases of insect molting

from Evans 1984


Cricket, ORTHOPTERA
Cockroach, BLATTODEA
True bug, HEMIPTERA
Molting (ecdysis):
• Usually takes place in early
morning because of peak humidity.
• Precarious because of
helplessness of molting insect.
• Faulty molting is a major cause of
mortality.
exuvia(e)- skin that has
been shed or cast-off
Cicada,
True HEMIPTERA
bug, HEMIPTERA
 Polymorphism
Marked differences in appearance or behavior within the same species.
Terms & Determinants:
Polymorphism per se, genetic, e.g. butterfly mimicry clines,
rings. Also the general term (refers to all 3 types).
Polyphenism, environmental:
a. climate, nutrition, e.g. aphids (HEMIPTERA)
b. pollution, e.g. lady beetles (COLEOPTERA)
c. colony-influenced (social/eusocial insects),
e.g. ants, bees (HYMENOPTERA),
termites (Isoptera-BLATTODEA)
d. parasite-influenced, e.g. stylopization (HYMENOPTERA)
Polyethism, behavioral, hormones, developmental stage,
colony conditions
& feedback especially social insects, e.g. caste polyethism in
honey bees.
Polymorphism in butterfly
Males of the swallowtail butterfly species Papilio polytes exist in
one form, but several female forms co-occur in the same
population.
Females with the cyrus form look like males, whereas other
female forms mimic the colour patterns of distantly related toxic
species, such as the polytes form, which resembles Pachliopta
aristolochiae.
Polyphenism in aphids
Determined by season, food quality,
crowding, & predator pressure.
Mediated by hormones. In many
spp., involves asexual & sexual
reproductive phase, apterous and
winged phases.

Sunflower aphid
(Top) & (Middle): ovoviviparous (live
birth), apterous forms usually in
Summer – plentiful, rich food
(Bottom): sexual alate; oviparous
(lays eggs) in Fall – decreasing
food quality, crowding
Polymorphism in social
insects: ants
It involves several axes of
differentiation:
1) sexual - male vs. queen
(female)
2) reproductive vs. non
reproductive
3) worker castes - grades of
morphology & behavior
Temporal polyethism in the honey bee,
Apis mellifera (HYMENOPTERA).
Some discrete age-related worker tasks:

housekeeping, nursing signaling

foraging
 Age-related polyethism
in the honey bee, Apis
mellifera.
Responsive (to colony &
environment), structured
(by age), but flexible
(contingent on colony
needs).

from Winston 1987

 Parasite-caused
polyphenism in
a solitary bee,
Andrena sp.
(HYMENOPTERA)

Parasite:
Insect Longevity
• Life cycle duration, (egg to egg) may be dependent on
season.
• Adult form may be short-lived seldom survives beyond
reproduction.
• Immature phase almost always longer duration.
• One stage may diapause, extending life duration with no
activity.

Determining Factors
Genetic
Environment
Mortality Factors (season, life stage)
Physical Factors (temperature, humidity)
Timing (especially season)
Age Determination
Usually relative age is more meaningful,
i.e. “what instar” vs. “how many days”.
Correlation with size is tenuous
Difficult in larvae (few rigid body parts to measure)

Factoids: Longest-lived Insects

Cicadas: 17 years (mostly as nymphs)
Some wood-boring beetles: many years
Queen honey bees: ~12 years
Queen termites: >20 years
 Why “age-grade” insects?
Some practical examples:

1. Pest population outbreak prediction

Agriculture/phytophagy, e.g. Caterpillar or weevil infestations in
any crop require timing of management program (spray or
harvest).
Medical/disease vector, e.g. mosquito control relies on
assessment of stage of growth, which determines state of
population relative to potential for disease spread.

2. Forensic Entomology
Indicator species, e.g. blowflies. Stage of development of larvae
on corpse indicates approximate time of death.