Holometabola
| Holometabola Temporal range: Molecular clock indicates a possible Mississippian origin | |
|---|---|
| Panorpa communis, a scorpionfly (order Mecoptera) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Clade: | Eumetabola |
| Clade: | Holometabola Burmeister, 1835 |
| Orders | |
|
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Endopterygota Sharp, 1898 | |
Holometabola (from Ancient Greek holo- "complete" + metabolḗ "change"), also known as Endopterygota (from endo- "inner" + ptéryg- "wing" + Neo-Latin -ota "-having"), is a supra-ordinal clade of insects within the infraclass Neoptera that go through distinctive larval, pupal, and adult stages. They undergo a radical metamorphosis, with the larval and adult stages differing considerably in their structure and behaviour. This is called holometabolism, or complete metamorphism.