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Cocoon

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
cocoon: see pupa pupa , name for the third stage in the life of an insect that undergoes complete metamorphosis, i.e., develops from the egg through the larva and the pupa stages to the adult.
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cocoon
1. 
a. a silky protective envelope secreted by silkworms and certain other insect larvae, in which the pupae develop
b. a similar covering for the eggs of the spider, earthworm, etc.
2. a protective spray covering used as a seal on machinery

cocoon [kə′kün]
(invertebrate zoology)
A protective case formed by the larvae of many insects, in which they pass the pupa stage.
Any of the various protective egg cases formed by invertebrates.

Cocoon 

the protective formation of the pupae of many insects. The cocoon is usually woven of silk thread secreted by the larva before pupation. Cocoons of this type are those of many butterflies that spin cocoons, moths, silkworms, and some ants, whose cocoons are mistakenly called ant eggs. Many beetle larvae, such as weevils of the genus Cionus, construct cocoons of mucus secreted at the time of pupation. In some insects, pupation occurs inside the casing in which the larva has lived, for example, the sac casings of bagworm moths. The pseudo-cocoons, or puparia, of many flies consist of the skins of the larvae left after molting.

Earthworms, leeches, spiders, and some mollusks form “egg cocoons,” inside which eggs develop.



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He hurried forward to meet it, but as it drew nearer he saw that it was driven by the carpenter's youngest boy and that the figure at his side, looking like a large upright cocoon in spectacles, was that of Mrs.
"I have a little brown cocoon of an idea that may possibly expand into a magnificent moth of fulfilment," Anne told Gilbert when she reached home.
I have known young ladies, much better educated, and with an outward world diversified by instructive lectures, to say nothing of literature and highly-developed fancy-work, who have spun a cocoon of visionary joys and sorrows for themselves, just as Penny did.
 
 
 
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