Figure 2. Development of the red flour beetle, T. castaneum and timing of the experiments.

T. castaneum (usually) has 6 larval instars. Sixth-instar larvae develop into immobile, crescent-shaped prepupae and metamorphosis initiates. Prepupae develop into pupae with apparent wing covers and legs. The next stage, pharate adults, eclose from the pupal case and mature in the course of a few days. Syringe indicates injection of dsRNA into 4^th instar larvae to analyze developmental consequences of gene knockdowns. ‘R’ letters indicate life stages used to isolate RNA for gene expression studies. ‘G’ denotes stages used for N-glycan analyses.