Nymph (biology)

In biology, a nymph (from Ancient Greek νύμφα nūmphē meaning "bride") is the juvenile form of some invertebrates, particularly insects, which undergoes gradual metamorphosis (hemimetabolism) before reaching its adult stage.

This includes the orders Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers and locusts), Hemiptera (cicadas, shield bugs, whiteflies, aphids, leafhoppers, froghoppers, treehoppers), mayflies, termites, cockroaches, mantises, stoneflies and Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies).

Some entomologists have said that the terms larva, nymph and naiad[4] should be used according to the developmental mode classification (hemimetabolous, paurometabolous or holometabolous) but others have pointed out that there is no real confusion.

[5] In older literature, these were sometimes referred to as the heterometabolous insects, as their adult and immature stages live in different environments (terrestrial vs.

[6] In 1628, English physician William Harvey published An Anatomical Disquisition on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals.