Which metamorphosis type do true bugs, crickets, and cockroaches undergo?

Which metamorphosis type do true bugs, crickets, and cockroaches undergo?

• A. Holometabolous
• B. Hemimetabolous
• C. Ametabolous
• D. Paurometabolous

Answer: (B)

Insects like true bugs, crickets, and cockroaches go through incomplete metamorphosis. This means their life cycle is egg → nymph → adult, with no pupal stage. The nymphs look like smaller copies of the adults, though they may be wingless or have underdeveloped wings at first, and they molt several times as they grow into adults. Because there isn’t a pupal phase and the young resemble the adults, this pattern is the hallmark of incomplete metamorphosis. For contrast, complete metamorphosis involves a pupal stage and very different larval forms (for example, caterpillars or maggots turning into beetles or butterflies), while ametabolous development shows little to no change from immature to adult. Some sources also use a term closely related to this life cycle, but the commonly accepted label for these groups in many exams is hemimetabolous.

Insects like true bugs, crickets, and cockroaches go through incomplete metamorphosis. This means their life cycle is egg → nymph → adult, with no pupal stage. The nymphs look like smaller copies of the adults, though they may be wingless or have underdeveloped wings at first, and they molt several times as they grow into adults. Because there isn’t a pupal phase and the young resemble the adults, this pattern is the hallmark of incomplete metamorphosis.

For contrast, complete metamorphosis involves a pupal stage and very different larval forms (for example, caterpillars or maggots turning into beetles or butterflies), while ametabolous development shows little to no change from immature to adult. Some sources also use a term closely related to this life cycle, but the commonly accepted label for these groups in many exams is hemimetabolous.