Larvae Collection

Ephemera danica, mayfly larva
The larval stage of a mayfly lasts about a year, and is spent entirely underwater. When it hatches as an adult in the spring, usually May, it is only very short-lived

Apatura iris, purple emperor
Plate 20 from Illustrations of British Butterflies and their Larvae (1892) by Theo Johnson. Cropped image of illustration

Bluebottle maggots
Numerous bluebottle fly maggots or larvae feeding on carrion

Smooth newt, male, female and larvae, Lissotriton vulgaris (as common newt, Lacerta vulgaris, common water newt, Lacerta palustris, Lacerta punctata)

Stag beetles
Male and female stag beetles with pupa. Date: 1865

Ruby tiger moth and peach blossom moth
Ruby tiger moth, Phragmatobia fuliginosa 1-5, and peach blossom moth, Thyatira batis 6-8. Handcoloured copperplate engraving by Johann Carl Bock after Eugenius Johann Christoph Espers Die

Fish development from spawn and juvenile anatomy
Fish spawn on vegetation, fish growth from egg to larvae to fingerling, and anatomy of a juvenile fish. Handcolored copperplate engraving from Gottlieb Tobias Wilhelms Encyclopedia of Natural History

Red cracker butterfly and palm nut grubs
Red cracker butterfly, Hamadryas amphinome (copied from Maria Sibylla Merian), and palm nut grubs, larvae of the South American palm weevil, Rhynchophorus palmarum

Cordylobia anthropophaga, tumbu fly larvae
Larvae of the tumbu fly or putzi fly common in East and Central Africa. Photographed by Martin Hall

Mucuna with insects in different life stages
Hand-coloured engraving based on Maria Sibylla Merian watercolour. From Metamorphosis insectorum Surinamensium, 1726 edition. Date: 1726

Sketchbooks of Lepidoptera, Margaret Fountaine
Various larvae and pupae watercolours with descriptions, 1933-35 Date: 1933

Polyommatus icarus, common blue butterfly
Plate 46 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed (1892) by Theo Johnson

Termite colony
An opened queen cell of Macrotermes showing the queen surrounded by the smaller king and various castes of workers, soldiers and white larvae

Gasterophilus, horse botfly
The larva of the horse botfly (Gasterophilus) which upon hatching migrate internally where they grow and attach themselves to the stomach wall of horses. Photographed by Martin Hall

Palaemonetes varians, ditch shrimp larva
Larva of the ditch shrimp in stage five of development, just prior to metamorphosis

Owlet moth caterpillar - in a bush at night feeding on bush foliage (Noctuidae sp.). Karakum desert - Turkmenistan - Spring - April

Antlion larva on a paper sheet (Deutoleon lineatus). Tuva, Russia

Apateon pedestris, amphibian larva
A seven-centimetre-long larval amphibian

Tenthredinidae, Tenthredo, Symphyta

Polygonia c-album, comma
From Illustrations of British Butterflies: with occasional figures of the larva, pupa, and food-plant (1878) by Theo Johnson

Vanessa atlanta, red admiral
From Illustrations of British Butterflies: with occasional figures of the larva, pupa, and food-plant (1878) by Theo Johnson

Gonepteryx rhamni, brimstone
Plate 2 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Lampromyia sp. fly
Larvae of this family Vermilionidae behave like ant-lions, they make a funnel in the sand and wait at the bottom for other invertebrates to fall in. Specimen held at the Natural History Museum, London

Oestridae, botfly larva
Scanning electron microscope image of a botfly larva. They are parasites feeding on skin in the case of warble flies, nostrils in the flies that affect sheep and deer

Brachycerous fly
The family Nemestrinidae comprises almost 300 species of brachycerous flies. Larvae of this family are parasitoids of Orthoptera and scarabeus beetle larvae

Eristalis tenax, drone-fly larvae
Eristalis tenax is one of quite a large group of closely related hover-flies which have rat-tailed maggots, i.e. larvae with an elongated breathing tube at the end of their bodies. E

Argynnis lathonia, Queen of Spain fritillary
From Illustrations of British Butterflies: with occasional figures of the larva, pupa, and food-plant (1878) by Theo Johnson

Cyaniris semiargus, mazarine blue
Plate 42 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed (1892) by Theo Johnson

Anthocharis cardamines, orange tip
Plate 10 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Lysandra coridon, chalk-hill blue
From Illustrations of British Butterflies: with occasional figures of the larva, pupa, and food-plant (1878) by Theo Johnson

Cynthia cardui, painted lady
Plate 21 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Colias hyale, pale clouded yellow
Plate 4 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Lacewing larva in amber
Lacewing larva preserved in Baltic amber. This specimen dates from the Upper Eocene

Blowfly larvae
Mature maggots or larvae of the bluebottle blowfly (Calliphora)

Two species of beetle, with larvae on a Mexican or prickly poppy. Plate 24 from Metamorphosis Insectorum (1705) by Maria Sybilla Merian (1647-1717)

Chiggers, larvae of trombiculid mites
Lizards have pockets within their skin where chiggers accumulate. These pockets offer ideal living conditions. Each pocket has thick walls that repair quickly

Burnet moth
Plate 2 from 298 water-colour drawings of insects and larvae (1622) by C. Flegel

Deilephila elpenor, elephant hawk moth caterpillars
Two elephant hawk moth caterpillars by H. Hengstenburgh. From Collection of Drawings by Dutch Artists, 17th-19th centuries. Held in the Entomology Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Butterflies
Plate 86 from 298 water-colour drawings of insects and larva (1622) by C. Flegel. Held in the Entomology Library at the Natural History Museum, London

Saturnia pyripavonia, emperor moth
Plate 1 from 298 water-colour drawings of insects and larvae, Frankfurdt 1622 by C. Flegel

Argynnis aglaja, dark green fritillary
From Illustrations of British Butterflies: with occasional figures of the larva, pupa, and food-plant (1878) by Theo Johnson

Cockroach in amber

Maniola jurtina, meadow brown
Plate 15 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Maculinea arion, large blue
Plate 43 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed (1892) by Theo Johnson

Aglais urticae, small tortoiseshell
Plate 26 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

Larvae and Pupae by Margaret Fountaine
Plate 70 from Vol. III Larvae and Pupae from West Africa, Canary Islands, West Indies, South America and United States. 1926-31

Argynnis adippe, high brown fritillary
Plate 29 from Illustrations of British butterflies and their larvae, with the plants on which they feed, by Theo Johnson, 1892

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