The infective juvenile of SCN is invisible to the naked eye. If the juvenile becomes a male, it leaves the root and moves through the soil and probably does not contribute further to plant damage. If the juvenile becomes a female, it loses the ability to move and swells to a lemon-shape as it matures. The young adult female is referred to as a white female . Plant damage is primarily due to the feeding of females.
White females become yellow as they age and then brown after they die.
The brown stage is the cyst for which the nematode is named. Each cyst can contain up to 500 eggs, but under field conditions they usually contain many fewer eggs. The cyst protects the eggs from the soil environment. This SCN cyst has been broken open to reveal the eggs inside. Eggs can remain viable for years even in the absence of a suitable host.