Nymphs & Larvae

All images on this website have been taken in Leicestershire and Rutland by NatureSpot members. We welcome new contributions - just register and use the Submit Records form to post your photos. Click on any image below to visit the species page. The RED / AMBER / GREEN dots indicate how easy it is to identify the species - see our Identification Difficulty page for more information. A coloured rating followed by an exclamation mark denotes that different ID difficulties apply to either males and females or to the larvae - see the species page for more detail.

The juveniles of most insects look very different to the adults. Whilst it is difficult to recognise the species when looking at nymphs and larvae, there are many where it is possible and these are displayed here.

The term 'nymphs' refers to juveniles of species that go through incomplete metamorphosis, that is each nymph stage (instars) looks a little like a small version of the adult. The term 'larvae' is used for species that undergo complete metamorphosis where the juvenile is very different to the adult and goes through a major transformation in the final change to an adult (for example caterpillars and butterflies).

Nb. There is a separate gallery for caterpillars of butterflies, moths and sawflies.

Shieldbug & Allies - nymphs

Shieldbugs typically go through 5 growth stages after hatching from an egg. Each stage is called an 'instar'. Each of these instars can look quite different. See the species page for more examples. The nymphs shown below are generally late instars as these tend to be when they are most commonly seen.