Nymph (biology)
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2008-05-28T09:30:49Z
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[[Image:IMGP1747 WEB.jpg|thumb|[[Praying mantis]] nymphs, approximately 4 mm long, clustered on a leaf]]
[[Image:Grasshoppermetasnodgrass.jpg|thumb|[[Instar]]s of a grasshopper]]
[[Image:Mantisnymph.jpg|thumb|A [[praying mantis|mantis]] nymph on a finger]]
In [[biology]], a '''nymph''' is the immature form of some [[insect]]s, which undergoes incomplete [[metamorphosis (biology)|metamorphosis]] ([[hemimetabolism]]) before reaching its adult stage; unlike a typical [[larva]], a nymph's overall form already resembles that of the adult. In addition, while a nymph [[ecdysis|moults]] it never enters a [[pupa]]l stage. Instead, the final moult results in an adult insect.
This is the case, for example, in [[Orthoptera]] ([[cricket (insect)|crickets]] and [[grasshopper]]s), [[Hemiptera]] ([[cicada]]s, [[shield bug]]s, etc.), [[mayfly|mayflies]], [[termite]]s, [[cockroach]]es, [[mantid]]s, and [[Odonata]] ([[dragonfly|dragonflies]] and [[damselfly|damselflies]]). Some [[arachnid]]s (e.g., [[mite]]s and [[tick]]s) also have nymphs.
Nymphs of [[aquatic insects]], as in the [[order (biology)|orders]] Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies), Ephemeroptera (mayflies), and Plecoptera ([[stonefly|stoneflies]]) are also called '''naiads''', which is an [[Ancient Greek]] name for [[Greek mythology|mythological]] [[nymph|water nymphs]], who would lure men to their deaths with their cold black hearts. In older literature, these were sometimes referred to as the [[Heterometaboly|heterometabolous]] insects, as their adult and immature stages live in different [[Natural environment|environments]] ([[terrestrial animal|terrestrial]] vs. [[aquatic animal|aquatic]]).
==See also==
* [[Egg (biology)]]
* [[Naiad]]s in Greek mythology
[[Category:Developmental biology]]
[[Category:Entomology]]
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