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Immature Stages of Nitidulidae

Detailed information on immature stages of Nitidulidae is being acquired. However, Silvestri (1910a) found that females of Cybocephalus rufifrons Reit. deposit eggs beneath the female scales of Aulacaspis pentagona Targ. and at times among the newly hatched larvae that have not yet left the protection of the scale covering. A thin-walled cocoon is spun on the foliage by the mature larva, and this is covered with the remains of host insects and other extraneous material.

Cybocephalus sp. is a predator on the larger larvae and pupae of several species of Aleurocanthus in Java (Clausen & Berry 1932). The larvae, which are white, are sluggish in habit and remain on the same leaf during their feeding period if sufficient food is available. They resemble larvae of several species of the coccinellid genus Scymnus which attack the same host. Pupation occurs in a cell in the soil rather than on the foliage, and no cocoon is formed.

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