What is the life cycle of a Goauld?
A Goa’uld queen must find a suitable host race. She extracts that race’s DNA (as seen in the first season episode “Hathor”). The Goa’uld queen uses that DNA to create infant Goa’uld larvae suitable for melding with that race. These larvae can then be stored in special chemicals in revered areas (“Bloodlines”). These infant Goa’uld larvae need to be protected and nurtured to maturity. They are placed within Jaffa (specially adapted members of the chosen species) in a ceremony known as the “prim’tah” (the word also refers to the larval symbiote implanted). The Jaffa have a pouch in their stomach (created during the ceremony or by a device such as the one Hathor used in “Hathor”), containing essential nutrients for the Goa’uld infant. The cost to the Jaffa is the loss of their immune system, which is now provided by the Goa’uld. In return, they gain increased strength and longevity. Without the larval symbiote, the Jaffa will die within hours (“Bloodlines”) and vice-versa. The Goa’uld the
