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This week's LabZone activity
Feb. 8, 2006
Raising Mealworms
Mealworms are one of the easiest animals to raise from egg to adult to egg again. Mealworms earned their name because they are often found in containers of cornmeal and cereal. In nature, they can be found under rocks or the bark of rotting logs. If you don't want to go on a mealworm hunt through your house or backyard, you can pick some up at a pet store where they sell them as food for reptiles and amphibians.
Materials
- A clear shoe box or food keeper with a lid
- Oatmeal or bran cereal
- Potato, carrot, or apple slices
- Mealworms
- Fine-tip permanent markers of various colors
- Ruler
Poke a lot of small holes in the lid of the box. Spread an inch or two of oatmeal or bran cereal on the bottom to provide food for both the larvae and adults. Since these insects get their water from the food they eat, add a slice of potato, carrot, or apple. Be sure to replace these every few days so you don't grow mold instead of mealworms! Add the mealworms to the box.
The larvae will be more active if you keep them warm (between 70° to 80°F [21° to 27°C]), dark place, but light and cooler temperatures will not hurt them. In nature, it can take nine months or more for mealworms to complete a life cycle. In your box, it will probably take only between 76 and 136 days. Mealworms hatch from their eggs after about six to 14 days, grow and molt as larvae for 60 to 120 days, pupate for about 10 days, and finally emerge as adult darkling beetles. Use fine tip permanent markers to make a small dot or two on mealworm eggs and larvae. For example, eggs laid on July 7 might have one orange dot while eggs laid on July 9 might have one orange dot and one blue dot. Record your color code in your journal to help you keep track of the development of each egg and larvae.
Journal Notes
How long did each stage last?
How long (in inches or centimeters) is each instar larva?
How many instars does a mealworm go through?
What color is the adult when it first emerges from the pupa? What color is it after one hour? One day?
When you have finished studying the mealworms, you can feed the eggs, larvae, and adults to the fish, frogs, and turtles at a local pond.
Reprinted with permission from Insectigations: 40 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Insect World by Cindy Blobaum. Published by Chicago Review Press, distributed by Independent Publishers Group (www.ipgbook.com). Copyright © 2005 by Cindy Blobaum.
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