thumb|upright=.8|Last [[Moulting|molting of a cicada giving rise to the winged imago]]

In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the imaginal stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in which the insect attains maturity. It follows the final ecdysis of the immature instars.

In a member of the Ametabola or Hemimetabola, species in which metamorphosis is "incomplete", the final ecdysis follows the last immature or nymphal stage. In members of the Holometabola, in which there is a pupal stage, the final ecdysis follows emergence from the pupa, after which the metamorphosis is complete, although there is a prolonged period of maturation in some species.

The imago is the only stage during which the insect is sexually mature and, if it is a winged species, the only stage that has functional wings. The imago often is referred to as the adult stage.

See also

  • Imaginal disc

References

  • Arenas-Mena, C. (27 February 2010). "Indirect Development, Transdifferentiation and the Macroregulatory Evolution of Metazoans". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 365: 1540. pp. 653–669.