the larvae develop in three stages, or instars. in the first instar, it is difficult to determine the dispersion of the spines due to some segments not being pigmented. the second through ninth segments each have a full set of spines as anterior borders. however, the color starts to change in the eighth and ninth segments: segment 8 has lighter colored spines and the ninth segment's spines are practically void of color. the spines are reduced to one or two rows in segment 9, but segment 10 has several rows that are lightly colored. segment 11 is characterized by two or three rows of dark spines as a posterior border on the dorsal side. segment 12 is characterized by tubercles, with an inner set on the upper border. cephalopharyngeal sclerite are darkly pigmented.