Hypermetamorphosis is the form of metamorphosis exhibited by certain parasitoid insects, notably the beetle families Meloidae and Ripiphoridae, the fly family Acroceridae, the parasitic wasp family Eucharitidae, and the order Strepsiptera. The defining feature of hypermetamorphosis is that the larval morphology becomes less advanced as the larva goes through successive molts. Thus, the first instar larva typically has legs and eyes, but it loses these after finding a host and molting, and which point it lives inside the body of its host and has no need for eyes or limbs. The usual term for first-instar hypermetamorphic insects is a planidium.

Developmental biology | Entomology