Describing insects that undergo complete metamorphosis with wings developing inside the body during immature stages.
From Greek 'endo-' (within) + 'pterygon' (wing) + '-ic' (adjective suffix). The term emerged in entomology in the 19th century to classify insects whose wings form internally before emerging in adult form, contrasting with exopterygotic insects.
This word reveals why butterflies are totally different from grasshoppers—butterflies are endopterygotic and essentially rebuild themselves in a cocoon, while grasshoppers are exopterygotic and just get bigger versions of themselves. It's like the difference between remodeling a house from the inside versus just adding rooms!
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