Which insect has complete metamorphosis and chewing mouthparts?

Which insect has complete metamorphosis and chewing mouthparts?

• A. Lace Bug
• B. Long-Horned Grasshopper
• C. June Beetle
• D. Leafhopper

Answer: (C)

Insects with complete metamorphosis go through four life stages—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—with the larva and adult looking very different, and many beetles have chewing mouthparts for grinding plant material. June beetles are scarab beetles that develop this way: egg to grub-like larva, then a pupal stage, and finally an adult beetle with strong mandibles for chewing leaves. That combination—complete metamorphosis plus chewing mouthparts—fits June beetles especially well. Lace bugs and leafhoppers are true bugs that undergo incomplete metamorphosis and have piercing-sucking mouthparts, not chewing mandibles. Long-horned grasshoppers also have chewing mouthparts but share incomplete metamorphosis, so they don’t meet both criteria.

Insects with complete metamorphosis go through four life stages—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—with the larva and adult looking very different, and many beetles have chewing mouthparts for grinding plant material. June beetles are scarab beetles that develop this way: egg to grub-like larva, then a pupal stage, and finally an adult beetle with strong mandibles for chewing leaves. That combination—complete metamorphosis plus chewing mouthparts—fits June beetles especially well.

Lace bugs and leafhoppers are true bugs that undergo incomplete metamorphosis and have piercing-sucking mouthparts, not chewing mandibles. Long-horned grasshoppers also have chewing mouthparts but share incomplete metamorphosis, so they don’t meet both criteria.