Georgia Certified Operator Practice Test

Complete metamorphosis means four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Insects that go through this process transform dramatically—the larval form looks very different from the adult and often has a different lifestyle. Bees, wasps, hornets, and ants are classic examples. They hatch as worm-like larvae, become pupae where major transformation happens, and then emerge as adults that usually have wings and distinct bodies from the larvae. Grasshoppers and bed bugs don’t follow that four-stage path. They develop through a series of molts from nymphs that resemble small adults, but they never enter a pupal stage. Flies and mosquitoes do experience complete metamorphosis as well, with larval and pupal stages, but the group referenced is still a clear instance of complete metamorphosis in this context.