IG. 4. Reproductive cycle of Pharaxonotha
zamiae in Zamia pumila. A. Young adults
leave the soil and visit male cones of Z. pumila
in which microsporangia are beginning to dehisce;
B. Beetles forage in the male cone; C. Beetles
feed on pollen in microsporophylls and lay eggs
between (arrow) and sometimes in sporangia;
D. Eggs hatch and larvae feed on pollen; E. When
larvae are ready to moult, they eat a hole in the
sporophyll into which they enter to moult. When
they emerge in the next instar they return to
feeding on pollen. Only the early instars eat pollen
and by the third instar much of the pol1en is gone;
F. Later instars eat only parenchyma tissue,
entering the cone axis through a sporophyll;
G. Larvae continue feeding until interior tissues of
the cone axis and peduncle are empty but do not
feed on the stem itself; H. The last larval instar
eats a hole in the peduncle and drops to the ground;
I. Larvae burrow into soil, pupate (J.) and after 4-7
days emerge as mature beetles; J. Beetles leave the
soil in search of a new male cone to feed and breed
in; K. Pollination takes place when some individuals
enter a female cone instead of a male cone. They
neither oviposit in female cones nor feed on them