When insects undergo complete metamorphosis, this is the form in between the last larval instar and the adult. In this stage, the insect does not usually feed or move around much. It may be covered by a protective cocoon. http://www.amnh.org/learn/biodiversity_counts/ident_help/Parts_Arthropods/metamorphosis.htm

Hello Claudio; Does a beetle pupa fit you definition? Cheers, Jim Des Lauriers

Hello James; not really, because pupae is a non-feeding stage in all holometabolous.

Cheers, Claudio

When insects undergo complete metamorphosis, this is the form in between the last larval instar and the adult. In this stage, the insect does not usually feed or move around much. It may be covered by a protective cocoon. http://www.amnh.org/learn/biodiversity_counts/ident_help/Parts_Arthropods/metamorphosis.htm

Kindly check https://www.intechopen.com/books/edible-insects/larval-development-and-molting

Also check https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/instar

Thanks for the links,

Claudio

I believe there are some mite stages.

Hi Claudio, the first instar of most (if not all) stink bug (Pentatomidae) nymphs do not feed at all before mounting to second instar. They cluster on eggs to acquire microbial symbionts that have been deposited on the egg surface by the mother.

Thanks Josh and Paul for your answers!

C.

Major role of larvae and nymphs in the life cycle of insects is to feed and grow. Bugs of the order Hemiptera have five instars, the first instar of which does not feed at all but remain clustered around the egg mass. Also, the first instar of Tortricid moth, Choristoneura jumiferana does not feed.

I would check out larvae belonging to the genus Trogoderma (Dermestidae; stored product pests) who may diapause as larvae, undergo retromolting (molting in the absence of food to an "earlier instar" under unfavorable conditions), and do other weird things.

Hi Claudio and colleagues,

I have observed this frequently in the lab with cerambycid larvae under forced starvation

best

Luismi

Muchas gracias Luis, voy a explorar esa pista.

Saludos,

Claudio

Hi Claudio,

I never documented the following observation but...

I reared a diverse community of macrolepidopterans related with evergreen oaks.

The rearing process was done by feeding caterpillars with fresh leaves individually in Petri dishes. I observed that, when caterpillars reach and advanced instars, they rapidly pupate if I stop feeding them. In other words, there is a kind of mechanism that motivate that caterpillars prefer to pupate than the risk of loose many reserves in an scenario of absence of resources.

This brings me think of differences between uni- and multivoltine species, consequences on survival rates, reproductive success, etc... specially for those species that overwinter as pupa.

All the best.

Saludos atentos desde México, Dr. Lazzari. Nosotros hemos observado prácticamente en todos nuestros ciclos biológicos con triatominos que hay chinches que mudan de segundo a tercer estadio o de tercero a cuarto sin comer. Espero le sea de ayuda la información.

José Martínez-Ibarra

Muchas gracias José! Es muy interesante lo que menciona. Se refiere a alguna especie en particular?

Saludos!

Hi Claudio,

If I remember well, last instar of some blowflies (calliphoridae) do not feed. Some of them use this lap time to migrate

best

Hola de nuevo, doctor. Hemos visto el fenómeno en las seis especies de "Meccus", así como en T. lecticularia y T. barberi, entre las que recuerdo. @