Mealworm

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Mealworm

Mealworms are the larva form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle

Darkling beetle

Darkling beetles are a family of beetles found worldwide, estimated at more than 20,000 species . Many of the beetles have black elytra. Darkling beetles eat both fresh and decaying vegetation....
. Like all holometabolic

Holometabolism

Holometabolism, also called complete Metamorphosis , is a term applied to insect groups to describe the specific kind of insect development which includes four life stages - as an embryo, a larva, a pupa and an imago....
insect

Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s, they go through four life-stages: egg

Egg (biology)

In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo....
, larva

Larva

A larva is a young form of animal with indirect developmental biology, going through or undergoing metamorphosis .The larva can look completely different from the adult form, for example, a caterpillar differs from a butterfly....
, pupa

Pupa

Imago

In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis , or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete....
. Larvae typically measure about 2.5 cm or more, whereas adults are generally between 1.25 and 1.8 cm in length.

worms are typically used as a food source

Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
for reptile

Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
and avian

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
pet

PET

The term pet typically refers to a pet.PET may also refer to:...
s.

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Uses

Mealworms are typically used as a food source

Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
for reptile

Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
and avian

Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
pet

PET

The term pet typically refers to a pet.PET may also refer to:...
s. They are also provided to wild birds in bird feeder

Bird feeder

A birdfeeder, bird feeder, or bird table is a device placed out-of-doors to supply bird food to birds. The success of a bird feeder in attracting birds depends upon its placement and the kinds of seeds offered, as different species have different preferences....
s, particularly during the nesting season when birds are raising their young and appreciate a ready food supply. Mealworms are high in protein, which makes them especially useful as a food source. They are also commonly used for fishing bait.

They can be purchased at most pet stores and bait shops. They are also available via mail order and via internet suppliers (by the thousand). Mealworms are typically sold in a container with bran

Bran

Bran is the hard outer layer of grain and consists of combined aleurone and pericarp. Along with cereal germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, and is often produced as a by-product of milling in the production of refined grains....
or oatmeal

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is a product of ground oat groats or a porridge made from this product . The term, 'oatmeal' can refer also to other products made from oat groats, such as steel-cut oats, crushed oats, and rolled oats....
for food.

When rearing mealworms, commercial growers incorporate a juvenile hormone

Juvenile hormone

Juvenile hormones are a group of acyclic sesquiterpenoids that regulate many aspects of insect physiology, such as development, reproduction, diapause, and polyphenisms....
into the feeding process to keep the mealworm in the larval stage and achieve an abnormal length of 2 cm or greater.

Reproduction

Mealworm beetles (darkling beetles) are prolific breeders. Mating is a three step process: 1) The male gives chase until the female relents. 2) The male then mounts the female and curls his genitals (aedagus) underneath himself and inserts it into her genital tract. 3) The male then injects a packet of semen into the female. Dependent on incubation temperature, just days after mating the female will burrow into soft ground and lays about 500 eggs.

Gestation

After 1 week the eggs hatch and larvae emerge (mealworms).

Larva stage

During the larva stage, mealworms will undergo repeated molting between bouts of eating various vegetation or dead insects. This takes place 10–14 times (instar

Instar

An instar is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each ecdysis , until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or assume a new form....
s) as it gets too big for its current exoskeleton. During its last molt, it loses its carapace before curling into its pupal form.

Pupa stage

The mealworm remains in its pupa

Pupa

A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in Holometabolism insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago....
l stage from 3 days to around 30 days (dependent on incubation temperature and overwintering). The pupa starts off a creamy white color and changes slowly to brown during its pupation stage. In this stage it is said that they look a bit like "aliens".

Life cycle

Incubation: 10–11 days at 20°C; 4–6 days at 30°C
Larval period: 90–114 days (10–14 larval instars)
Pupal period: 30 days at 15°C; 9 days at 25°C; 6 days at 35°C
Adult Stage 5–10 days

Human consumption

Mealworms can be easily raised on fresh oats or grain, with sliced potato or carrots and little pieces of apple as a water source.

Mealworms have been incorporated into tequila

Tequila

Tequila is an blue agave distilled beverage made primarily in the area surrounding Tequila, Jalisco, in the northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco and in the highlands of the western Mexican state of Jalisco....
flavored novelty candies. However, mealworms are not traditionally served in tequila or mezcal

Mezcal

Mezcal, or mescal, is a Mexican distilled spirit protected by International Denomination of Origin made from agave plants. Its production and consumption is popularly associated with the Mexican state of Oaxaca....
drinks, the latter sometimes containing a larval moth (Hypopta agavis
Hypopta agavis

Hypopta agavis, whose larvae are known in Spanish as maguey worm , is a moth native to North America. Its larvae feed on the succulent leaves of the maguey, although they are not considered a plague, as they have been traditionally used as food in Mexican cuisine....
).

External links

from the Center for Insect Science Education Outreach at the University of Arizona