metamorphosis | Ask Dr. Universe | Washington State University

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University Communications Network > Ask Dr. Universe > metamorphosis

What is the life cycle of a ladybug? – Rachel, 6, Virginia

September 18, 2025 melissamayer

Dear Rachel,

Every spring, I see spiny bugs that look like tiny alligators. They spend all day chomping up other insects outside my window.

I asked my friend Rich Zack about them. He’s an insect scientist at Washington State University.

He told me those spiky gobblers are immature ladybugs.

The ladybug life cycle includes complete metamorphosis. They undergo big body changes to become adults. An insect that does that is holometabolous.

“Millions of years ago, holometabolous insects split up their duties between the immatures and the adults,” Zack said. “An immature’s job is to feed. An adult’s job is to mate.”

There are … » More …

Do ants hibernate in the winter? – Garrett, 10, Illinois

March 24, 2023 melissamayer

Dear Garrett,

When most people think about hibernation, they picture bears snoozing away the cold winter in their dens. You’re right that other animals do that, too.

I talked about your question with my friend Laurel Hansen. She’s an entomology professor at Washington State University. Her specialty is carpenter ants.

“We think most ants in our temperate climate will have diapausing larvae and what I would call overwintering adults,” Hansen said.

Diapausing and overwintering are like hibernating but not quite the same. There are a few things to know about ants to understand what these terms mean.

Can frog babies hear their mothers croaking underwater? -Ella, 9, Seattle, WA

August 31, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Ella,

Baby frogs go through some pretty big changes to become grown-up frogs. They start out as tiny tadpoles with just a head and a tail to help them swim. They have an inner ear and can hear some sounds.

I saw a caterpillar and a butterfly in the neighbor's yard. So my question is, what exactly happens inside the little sack they're in while they transform into a butterfly and HOW exactly do they do it? -Eston

April 6, 2015 rcwebber

Dear Eston,

Springtime sets the stage for one of the greatest transformations in the natural world.

“It’s the construction of a butterfly or moth from caterpillar soup,” said my friend David James, an entomologist at Washington State University. James studies the science behind metamorphosis, or how a creature transforms.