Hypermetamorphosis is a form of ontogenetic development in which the morphological characteristics of an animal change fundamentally several times during individual development. It is therefore a development involving multiple metamorphic stages. It occurs mainly in insects and other invertebrates whose successive larval stages occupy different habitats. It is particularly common in temporary parasites, which generally develop not only a parasitic form but also a dispersal stage and an adult form. Well-known examples include blister beetles, mantispids and parasitoid wasps.

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