Study the complete life cycle of a mealworm
Suitable For
Grade 8
Difficulty
2
Time Required
Months
Supervision
Advised
What’s it about?
A complete life cycle of a mealworm takes six months. Mealworms are actually the larva stage of the Darkling Beetle. The adult meal worm is a nocturnal beetle that is approximately one inch in length and dark brown or black in colour with a hard outer shell. In this science experiment, study the four phases of a mealworm’s life over six months:
Topics covered
Meal worms
What will I need?
- LARGE CONTAINER
- MEALWORMS
- CARDBOARD
- OATMEAL OR BRAN
- RUBBER BANDS
- APPLE
- MESH CLOTH
Procedure (Method)
A complete life cycle of a mealworm takes six months. Mealworms are actually the larva stage of the Darkling Beetle. The adult meal worm is a nocturnal beetle that is approximately one inch in length and dark brown or black in colour with a hard outer shell. In this science experiment, study the four phases of a mealworm’s life over six months:
- Obtain a few dozen mealworms from a pet store in your area.
- Get a glass or Perspex container about 30cm x 20cm x 10cm high to be used as shelter for the mealworms.
- Fill the bottom of the container to a height of about 3-5cm with oatmeal or bran as food for the worms and place an apple in the centre which the mealworms will use for water.
- To allow air to reach the worms, cover the top opening of the container with a sheet of cloth mesh and hold in place on the sides with a few rubber bands.
- Cover the mesh with a loose piece of cardboard to help keep the moisture in the container but still allowing air to come in.
- Place the mealworms inside the container. Place the container in a cool, dry place and study them frequently over the next 6 months!
How does it work?
Over the next six months you will witness the four phases of a mealworm’s life. First, the mealworms will develop into pupae. When this happens, move the pupae into another similar container with food at the bottom and covered with mesh cloth, otherwise they might be eaten by the remaining mealworms. The pupae will then hatch into beetles in the new container and at this time they can be placed back into the original container. The adult beetles will lay small eggs that will hatch into mealworms again.
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