pu·pa

[pyoo-puh]
noun, plural pu·pae [-pee] , pu·pas.
an insect in the nonfeeding, usually immobile, transformation stage between the larva and the imago.

Origin:
1765–70; < Neo-Latin, special use of Latin pūpa girl, doll, puppet. See pupil1, puppet

pu·pal, adjective
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World English Dictionary
pupa (ˈpjuːpə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -pae, -pas
coarctate exarate See obtect an insect at the immobile nonfeeding stage of development between larva and adult, when many internal changes occur
 
[C19: via New Latin, from Latin: a doll, puppet]
 
'pupal
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10
Pupa is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pupa
1773, "post-larval stage of an insect," special use by Linnæus (1758) of L. pupa "girl, doll, puppet" (see pupil (1)) on notion of "undeveloped creature."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
pupa   (py'pə)  Pronunciation Key 


(click for larger image in new window)

Plural pupae (py'pē)
An insect in the nonfeeding stage of development between the larva and adult, during which it typically undergoes a complete transformation within a protective cocoon or hardened case. Only certain kinds of insects, such as moths, butterflies, ants, and beetles, develop as larvae and pupae. Compare imago, larva, nymph.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
We managed to extricate it and put the pupa in a jar.
Empty fly pupa were found with the kids' remains, indicating that maggots ate
  their flesh during natural decomposition.
The mature larva forms a pupa and transforms into the adult insect which is a
  gray to brown colored moth with a one inch wingspan.
The pupa usually does not eat or move around much, but a lot of internal
  changes take place.
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