What is the correct sequence of developmental stages in the mosquito life cycle?

What is the correct sequence of developmental stages in the mosquito life cycle?

• A. Egg, Larva, Pupa, Adult.
• B. Egg, Pupa, Larva, Adult.
• C. Larva, Egg, Pupa, Adult.
• D. Egg, Larva, Adult, Pupa.

Answer: (A)

Mosquitoes go through four distinct life stages in a fixed order: egg, larva, pupa, then adult. The egg must hatch into aquatic larvae, which grow by molting. The larva then becomes a non-feeding pupal stage still in water, and from that pupal stage emerges the adult mosquito. This sequence matters because each stage has its own biology: larvae feed and develop in water, pupae are a transitional, non-feeding stage, and adults disperse and mate. Sequencing that puts pupa before larva, or adult before pupal development, would skip or reverse essential metamorphosis steps, and placing egg after larva doesn’t fit the life cycle. The correct order is egg, larva, pupa, adult.

Mosquitoes go through four distinct life stages in a fixed order: egg, larva, pupa, then adult. The egg must hatch into aquatic larvae, which grow by molting. The larva then becomes a non-feeding pupal stage still in water, and from that pupal stage emerges the adult mosquito. This sequence matters because each stage has its own biology: larvae feed and develop in water, pupae are a transitional, non-feeding stage, and adults disperse and mate. Sequencing that puts pupa before larva, or adult before pupal development, would skip or reverse essential metamorphosis steps, and placing egg after larva doesn’t fit the life cycle. The correct order is egg, larva, pupa, adult.