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Home » Forums » General Discussion

Teneral?

Hi,

A couple of weeks ago, I submitted a picture of a damselfly to the ID Request section of Bug Guide. I got one reply, "It is too teneral to tell, I think." At first I thought it was a mis-typing of the word "general". But then I decided to do a search at Bug Guide for "teneral" and some pictures of damselflies, dragonflies, and beetles (I believe) appeared.

What exactly does teneral mean?

Thank you.
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Contributed by Chris on 26 January, 2007 - 4:26pm

Definition
Ten´er`al
a. 1. (Zool.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, a condition assumed by the imago of certain Neuroptera, after exclusion from the pupa. In this state the insect is soft, and has not fully attained its mature coloring.

applies to other orders as well
… Phillip Harpootlian, 26 January, 2007 - 8:41pm login or register to post comments

 
Ah ha!
Thank you very much. :)
… Chris, 26 January, 2007 - 8:50pm login or register to post comments

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