What are the 4 life cycles?

• A. Egg, larva, pupa, and adult
• B. Egg, pupa, larva, and adult
• C. Egg, larva, chrysalis, adult
• D. Egg, nymph, adult, senescent

Answer: (A)

Understanding insect life cycles helps explain why certain pest control strategies work at specific times. In many insects with complete metamorphosis, there are four distinct life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The larva is usually worm-like and focused on feeding and growing, the pupa is a non-feeding transformative stage during which the insect reorganizes into the adult form, and the adult is primarily concerned with reproduction and dispersal. The term chrysalis refers specifically to the pupal stage in butterflies, not all insects, so using it as the general pupal stage isn’t appropriate. The other options either mix up the order of stages, include a stage that isn’t part of complete metamorphosis, or reference non-existent or non-general terms. Hence, the sequence egg, larva, pupa, and adult correctly describes the four life stages.