What are the life stages of a mosquito in order from earliest to latest?

What are the life stages of a mosquito in order from earliest to latest?

• A. Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult
• B. Egg, Nymph, Pupa, Adult
• C. Egg, Larva, Nymph, Adult
• D. Egg, Pupa, Larva, Adult

Answer: (A)

Mosquitoes go through complete metamorphosis, with four life stages in a fixed order: egg, larva, pupa, adult. The lifecycle starts when an egg is laid on or near water. When it hatches, it becomes a larva that lives in water and often looks like a wriggler, feeding and growing while it molts through several instars. The larva then becomes a pupa, an aquatic stage that doesn’t feed but moves actively as it prepares to become an adult. Finally, the adult emerges from the pupal case and becomes capable of flight and reproduction. Mosquitoes do not have a nymph stage—that term is used for insects with incomplete metamorphosis—so any option featuring a nymph is incorrect. The sequence can’t place pupa before or between larva stages, and it can’t skip the larval stage, so the correct order is egg, larva, pupa, adult.

Mosquitoes go through complete metamorphosis, with four life stages in a fixed order: egg, larva, pupa, adult. The lifecycle starts when an egg is laid on or near water. When it hatches, it becomes a larva that lives in water and often looks like a wriggler, feeding and growing while it molts through several instars. The larva then becomes a pupa, an aquatic stage that doesn’t feed but moves actively as it prepares to become an adult. Finally, the adult emerges from the pupal case and becomes capable of flight and reproduction. Mosquitoes do not have a nymph stage—that term is used for insects with incomplete metamorphosis—so any option featuring a nymph is incorrect. The sequence can’t place pupa before or between larva stages, and it can’t skip the larval stage, so the correct order is egg, larva, pupa, adult.