Perpetual larva

• Insects with a pupal stage
• undergo four-stage metamorphosis:
• egg, larva, pupa, and adult.
• Adults breed and lay eggs,
• renewing the cycle.
• Self-fertilization or autogamy
• is rare but has been observed
• in sea sponges, tapeworms,
• aphids, gall wasps,
• and other a few others.
• Our autogamous mosquito larva
• are unique in the insect kingdom
• in producing, when under stress,
• their own eggs, which hatch
• into autogamous mosquito larva.
• This two-stage metamorphosis
• means that they make excellent
• live fish feed. As a fish swallows,
• the larva fertilizes eggs that survive
• even though the larva dies.
• Essentially, autogamous larva
• spend their brief lives
• foraging and fattening up
• for the fish that eat them.