the scale cover, thereby allowing only one egg to be placed in one male cover. The

surface was smooth aside from debris sticking to the surface (Fig. 2-2) and was slightly

tacky, allowing the egg to stick to the substrate. Females typically laid about 3 eggs per

day and on average 288 eggs in a lifetime (Alvarez and Van Driesche 1998a). Eggs

hatched about 7 days after oviposition (Table 2-1). Eyespots could be seen 1-2 days

before larval emergence.

 When the larva emerged, the chorion split along the longitudinal axis and the larva

wriggled free. This process took about 15 minutes compared to the 30 to 45 minutes

reported by Blumberg and Swirski (1982) on the life history of Cybocephalus micans

Reitter and Cybocephalus nigriceps nigriceps (J. Sahlberg). The neonate larvae were

white or yellowish with long setae along the body, but after feeding for a day turned light

purple or lavender, with 4 black stemmata on each side of the head (Fig 2-3A, B). Not

only were larvae covered in long, slender setae but also shorter trumpet-shaped setae

(Fig. 2-4). After emergence, larvae immediately began to feed either on the scale eggs

sharing the space beneath the armor or rarely on the female scale. If an egg hatched in a

male scale cover, the larva would go to the nearest food source. Larvae continued to

move from scale to scale feeding on males, females, and eggs but spent the most time

underneath female armor. They also were seen cannibalizing other larvae when scale

density was extremely low, as mentioned by Alvarez and Van Driesche (1998a). Larvae

fed for 9 to 10 days.

 Three instars (Fig. 2-5A, B) were observed, similar to C. micans and C. n.

nigriceps (Blumberg and Swirski 1982). However, Ahmad (1970) recorded four instars

in Cybocephalus semiflavus Champion. When molting, the cuticle ruptured along the top