Cuticle formation and moulting in the egg ofMeloidogyne javanica(Nematoda)

At a temperature of 27°C the external cuticular membrane of the first larval stage (L1) ofMeloidogyne javanicais formed within a day of the start of elongation of the embryo within the egg. The first and only moult within the egg starts to occur 50 h after the commencement of elongation. Thus the cuticle of the L1is shed approximately a day after its formation. It is much thinner than the cuticle of the L2, is not covered during its formation by a closely adherent cuticle in the process of being moulted and its outermost membrane may be formed differently.