Eruciform

Eruciform larvae are larvae (usually of beetles) that are shaped like caterpillars of Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). They can move freely using legs attached to the thorax and the bodies may be long or short and humped.

Two larvae of the Northern Tamarisk Beetle (Diorhabda carinulata) illustrating the eruciform larval shape
Photograph by Roman Jashenko, Tethys Scientific Institute, Almaty, Kazakhstan: Photograph from Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture.

Related terms

• Campodeiform
• Carabiform
• Caterpillar
• Coleoptera
• Elateriform
• Larva
• Lepidoptera
• Onisciform
• Scarabaeiform
• Vermiform

Related groups of terms

• General biology

Related pages on this web site

• Beetles - Order Coleoptera
• Insect life cycles

See other words beginning with E