lar
val
1
immature of its kind; especially being or characteristic of immature insects in the newly hatched wormlike feeding stage
2
relating to or characteristic of the larva stage, which is an early, immature form of an animal that undergoes metamorphosis
- The butterfly's larval stage is spent as a caterpillar before it transforms into a chrysalis.
- Scientists observed the larval development of the frog in a controlled environment.
- The fish are particularly vulnerable during their larval phase.
- Larval insects often have different feeding habits compared to their adult forms.
- The larval mosquitoes thrive in standing water before maturing into adults.