ETYM Latin pupa girl. doll, puppet, fem. of pupus. Related to Puppet.
An insect in the inactive stage of development (when it is not feeding) intermediate between larva and adult.
Nonfeeding, largely immobile stage of some insect life cycles, in which larval tissues are broken down, and adult tissues and structures are formed.
In many insects, the pupa is exarate, with the appendages (legs, antennae, wings) visible outside the pupal case; in butterflies and moths, it is called a chrysalis, and is obtect, with the appendages developing inside the case.
Quiescent stage of insect's development between larval and adult stages; chrysalis.