Rapid growth and the evolution of complete metamorphosis in insects

Abstract

More than 50% of all animal species are insects that undergo complete metamorphosis. The key innovation of these holometabolous insects is a pupal stage between the larva and adult when most structures are completely rebuilt. Why this extreme lifestyle evolved is unclear. Here, we test the hypothesis that a trade-off between growth and differentiation explains the evolution of this novelty. Using a comparative approach, we find that holometabolous insects grow much faster than hemimetabolous insects. Using a theoretical model, we then show how holometaboly evolves under a growth-differentiation trade-off and identify conditions under which such temporal decoupling of growth and differentiation is favored. Our work supports the notion that the holometabolous life history evolved to remove developmental constraints on fast growth, primarily under high mortality.