Which insect exhibits simple metamorphosis?

• A. Western Corn Rootworm
• B. Water Strider
• C. White-Lined Sphinx Moth
• D. Yellowjacket

Answer: (B)

Simple metamorphosis, or incomplete metamorphosis, happens when the insect hatches into a nymph that resembles a smaller version of the adult and molts through several stages without ever forming a pupal stage. The water strider fits this pattern because as a true bug (order Hemiptera), its young look like miniature adults and gradually become full-sized adults through molts, without a pupal phase.

The other animals listed undergo complete metamorphosis, which includes distinct larval and pupal stages before becoming adults. A beetle hatches into a larva, then enters a pupal stage before an adult arises; a moth hatches into a caterpillar, then forms a chrysalis before the adult moth appears; a wasp develops from egg to larva to pupa, then adult.