In the animal world, this is known as complete and imperfect metamorphosis. Where not all animals fall into this category, but have you previously understood this term?

Previously, examples of animals that underwent complete metamorphosis were presented, and this time it is the turn of imperfect metamorphosis, where animals do not go through a growing cocoon, starting from eggs – nymphs – adults. Here are some types of animals with such growth.

1. Dragonfly

An example of an animal undergoing incomplete metamorphosis for the first time is a dragonfly. Surely you are familiar with the animals that are included in this family of insects, right? Because normally we can find these animals in rural areas and rice fields.

Why does this dragonfly fall into the category of animals with incomplete metamorphosis? Because the life cycle of this animal starts from egg – larva – nymph – adult dragonfly. In order to hatch, this dragonfly egg takes approximately two to five weeks.

After hatching, the larvae of this dragonfly have a transparent color, but within a few hours these larvae will change due to molting. In its growth, this dragonfly larva will undergo a skin renewal process 5 to 14 times to become an adult dragonfly.

During the growth period, the dragonfly larva develops into a nymph, which resembles an adult dragonfly, but is still small in size. These nymphs will continue to live in shallow water areas until they develop into adult dragonflies.

Once they are considered old enough, these adult dragonflies will leave the water and find a safe haven from predators. Animals that breathe through this trachea as adults must wait for their body to harden first so that all of their body functions work properly and they can fly perfectly.

2. grasshopper

Still in the insect family, this time there are grasshoppers that also undergo incomplete metamorphosis. The life cycle of this grasshopper animal is egg – nymph – adult grasshopper, and usually the parents of these grasshoppers lay their eggs on the sand or leaves.

Later, tens or hundreds of these eggs will be stored in the egg sac, depending on the species of grasshopper. And it took a long time, which is about 10 months, until the grasshopper eggs hatch and become nymphs.

The nymphs of these animals also have the shape of an adult grasshopper, but they do not have wings or reproductive organs. They will then experience up to 5 growth stages before finally becoming adult grasshoppers.

From the change of the cuticle skin, the release of the hard covering of the body, to the growth of the wings that they will use to fly.

In general, during this nymph the stages last five to six weeks until it becomes a grasshopper. And today’s grasshoppers usually live to an age of about two months, and the grasshopper itself is also one of the most preferred types of bird food.

3. Cockroaches

Another example of an animal with incomplete metamorphosis is cockroaches, which are hated by many people. The life cycle of this animal goes from egg – nymph, and finally it becomes an adult grasshopper.

Previously, the eggs of these cockroaches were stored in egg sacs known as an ootheca. Now, the egg sac is attached to the mother cockroach’s stomach, but when it’s time to hatch, the father will release it and hide it.

After the egg hatches, it will turn into a nymph, and usually in this process it is white in color, but after that, over time, it will turn brown, and the exoskeleton of its body will also begin to harden.

The appearance of these cockroach nymphs is similar to that of adult cockroaches, but they do not yet have wings. After that, this animal will change its skin up to several times until it becomes an adult cockroach, usually this process will take up to weeks.

There are even some species of cockroaches that can take up to two years. The lifespan of adult cockroaches can be from several months to more than two years, and it is important that you know the dangers of cats eating cockroaches, so that pets are always awake.

4. crickets

The next animal that also undergoes incomplete metamorphosis is the cricket. Animals that are easy to find at night are detected by the distinctive sound they have, where the sound of the night makes the night atmosphere more calm and serene.

Because these crickets also go through two phases before finally becoming an adult cricket. The early life of these crickets begins with the eggs, after they hatch they will become nymphs whose bodies resemble wingless adult crickets.

After roaming around for 4 to 7 weeks, these nymphs will eventually become adult crickets and have begun to roam in search of food. There are many types of crickets, most of which are easy to find in a given location.

5. Ladybug

The animals that have an incomplete metamorphosis cycle this time are ladybugs. Where the process of metamorphosis of this animal begins from the egg phase, then continues to become a nymph, then in the pupa phase, and finally becomes an adult ladybug.

There is something interesting here where in the process of metamorphosis this ladybug also goes through a pupal stage which is identical to the complete metamorphosis. However, it turns out that this is different, because unlike the pupa stage in general, where in this stage the ladybug undergoes skin changes without going through the cocoon stage before finally becoming an adult ladybug.

Enough of this discussion of examples of animals undergoing incomplete metamorphosis, I hope the review above was helpful and may contribute to your understanding later. Also check out related discussions like how to quickly breed cage caterpillars or how to quickly breed Hong Kong caterpillars.