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.