Larva campodeiform, usually feeding by suction (exceptionally hypermetamorphic with subsequent eruciform instars).
The antiquity of the Coleoptera is further shown by the great diversity of larval form and habit that has arisen in the order, and the proof afforded by the hypermetamorphic beetles that the campodeiform preceded the eruciform larva has already been emphasized.
The occurrence in the hypermetamorphic Coleoptera (see supra) of a campodeiform preceding an eruciform stage in the life-history is most suggestive.
The Mantispidae are remarkable among the Neuroptera for their elongate prothorax, raptorial fore-legs and hypermetamorphic life-history, the young campodeiform larva becoming transformed into a fat cruciform grub parasitic on young spiders or wasp-larvae (see Mantis-Fly).