Metamorphosis

High school (ages 12+)
Animals & Nature

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/metamorphosis

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?Metamorphosis
2. What is the significance?Facilitates niche partitioning, reduces intraspecific competition, and enhances adaptive potential
3. Why do insects and amphibians change into different forms?It lets the baby and adult live in different places and eat different foods, so they don't fight over the same stuff.
4. How does metamorphosis help animals survive?By having separate stages, animals can grow fast when food is plentiful and then travel far to find mates or new homes.

Holometabolous: Insects undergoing complete metamorphosis with distinct larval, pupal, and adult stages.
Hemimetabolous: Insects undergoing incomplete metamorphosis with nymphal stages gradually resembling the adult.
Ecdysteroids: A group of steroid hormones in arthropods that regulate molting and metamorphosis.