a young wingless often wormlike form (as a grub or caterpillar) that hatches from the egg of many insects
the larva looked ugly, but it was destined to hatch into a beautiful butterfly
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Recent Examples of larvaThe flesh-eating parasite, a larva of the Cochliomyia hominivorax fly, attacks warm-blooded animals, including humans.—Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 24 Sep. 2025 The parasitic flies produce larva that feed on living tissue, typically that of animals and livestock.—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025 Screwworm is actually a fly that gets its name from how its larva infects a host.—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 26 Aug. 2025 Each larva had to be surgically removed individually using different instrumentation.—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 25 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for larva
Recent Examples of Synonyms for larva
nymph
Noun
Lanternfly nymphs start hatching in April and grow through four nymph stages before emerging as adults in late June.
—
Chad Murphy,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
17 Feb. 2026
The business’ meat department was closed after health inspectors found five cockroach eggs and one live German cockroach nymph inside a paper towel dispenser.
—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
February 13,
Sacbee.com,
13 Feb. 2026