Juveniles
Eggs hatch within as little as one hour of being ingested by an insect. The immature nematodes use their stylet to penetrate the gut wall and enter the body cavity (hemocoel). Once inside the body cavity the second and third larval stages float in the blood and secure nutrients at the expense of the host insect (Burr et al. 1990). Baylis (1947) reported that the larvae were 0.24 mm long at hatching,increasing to 0.25–0.33 mm after 9 days, then 1.2–1.5 mm about day 11, 5.6 mm about day 20, 25 mm about day 32, and about 50 mm at day 37. Individual insects may ingest many nematode eggs over the course of their development, so it is not unusual to find insects with several or even hundreds of nematodes contained within their body, and sometimes at different stages of development. Consumption of too many eggs can result in premature death of the host, preventing successful development of the nematodes.