pupa vs. chrysalis

[Martha Rosett Lutz]

Robert Vandermoor wrote:

"Clarification pleeeeease !!!!

 Instinctively I have always referred to pupae as being distinct to a part
of the moth cycle and chrysalis distinct to a  part of the butterfly cycle.
I still find many knowledgeable lepidopterists interchanging the term pupae
or chrysalis"

Back in the 1970s I was taught (probably by Dr. George Eickwort, my first
entomology professor at Cornell) that 'pupa' is the designation for the
third life stage of a holometabolous insect (egg, larva, pupa, adult).
'Chrysalis' is the specialized name for the pupa of a butterfly.

The pupal stage is found in butterflies and moths, and also in beetles,
bees, flies, and all other insects with complete metamorphosis.

A chrysalis is only found in butterflies.

In other words, I was formally taught that 'chrysalis' is a sub-category of
'pupa,' and is specific to butterflies.

Was anyone else taught differently?  Since this is a matter of terminology,
it seems more important that we have a consensus understanding of the
meaning of the words than that we adopt any one's particular version, so I
would be grateful to hear from someone who learned it differently!

In Stride,
Martha Rosett Lutz



 
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