Which term describes the aquatic, immature stage of mosquitoes that feeds and molts four times?

• A. Larva
• B. Pupa
• C. Molting
• D. Exoskeleton

Answer: (A)

The main idea is the mosquito life cycle, which has distinct immature stages. The aquatic immature stage that actively feeds on microorganisms in the water and goes through four molts is the larva. After eggs hatch, larvae live in water and molt four times as they grow, each molt shedding the skin and increasing in size. They remain in the larval stage until they reach the final instar and then become pupae, which are aquatic but do not feed and are a transitional stage before the adult emerges. The term “molting” is the process of shedding the exoskeleton, not a stage itself, and “exoskeleton” refers to the outer covering that’s shed during molts. So, the term that describes this aquatic, feeding, four-molt immature stage is larva.