Figure 3. A schematic of C. elegans lifecycle in the wild.
In bacteria-rich habitats (beige), the C. elegans life cycle begins with an embryonic (E) stage, followed by four larval (L1-L4) stages, and ends with an adult stage (Ad). Most animals are self-fertilizing hermaphrodites; males are rare and breeding with males therefore uncommon. Under suboptimal conditions (such as crowding and starvation), L1 larvae can enter a predauer stage (L2d) followed by the diapause stage (dauer). When better conditions arise, dauers develop into postdauer L3 larvae and re-enter the lifecycle at the L4 stage.