| metamorphosis | <cell biology> Change of body form, for example in the development of the adult frog from the tadpole or the butterfly from the caterpillar. (18 Nov 1997) |
|---|
| retrograde metamorphosis | An effect whereby the productivity of a microbial strain used in a commercial process diminishes after repeated transfer from one culture media to another, often caused by genetic mutation. (14 Nov 1997) |
|---|---|
| complete metamorphosis | Insect development from egg, through successive larval instars, pupa, and adult; the latter is distinct from the first two forms of the insect, permitting specialization of feeding (larval) and reproductive-flying functions (adult); characteristic of the higher insect orders, such as Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants), Diptera (two-winged flies), and Siphonaptera (fleas). Synonym: holometabolous metamorphosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| heterometabolous metamorphosis | The development of a nymph into the imago which in many respects resembles the former; characteristic of more primitive insect orders, such as Heteroptera (true bugs), Orthoptera (locusts, grasshoppers), and Blatterria (roaches). Synonym: heterometabolous metamorphosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| holometabolous metamorphosis | Insect development from egg, through successive larval instars, pupa, and adult; the latter is distinct from the first two forms of the insect, permitting specialization of feeding (larval) and reproductive-flying functions (adult); characteristic of the higher insect orders, such as Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants), Diptera (two-winged flies), and Siphonaptera (fleas). Synonym: holometabolous metamorphosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| incomplete metamorphosis | The development of a nymph into the imago which in many respects resembles the former; characteristic of more primitive insect orders, such as Heteroptera (true bugs), Orthoptera (locusts, grasshoppers), and Blatterria (roaches). Synonym: heterometabolous metamorphosis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| fatty metamorphosis | The appearance of microscopically visible droplets of fat in the cytoplasm of cells. See: fatty degeneration. Synonym: fatty change. (05 Mar 2000) |