Experiment

We decided to set up an experiment to test whether our mealworm/darkling beetles (scientific name Tenebrio molitor) prefer a light or dark habitat. We based this off our observations that the mealworms and beetles seem more active in the dark; they come to the surface of the oats and actually move around rather than burrowing out of sight.



Research question: Do mealworm(darkling)beetles prefer to be in the light or dark?

Trial 1 Observations

We placed 20 beetles near the center of a cooking pan and then covered half the pan with a dark piece of paper to block the light from a small desk lamp we placed over it. We watched them for a total of five minutes. After only a few seconds the beetles started to migrate to the "dark" side of the pan. There was one beetle that went the opposite direction, but after running into the pan wall, it turned around and scurried under the paper as well. The beetles remained under the paper for the duration of the five minutes.

Trial 2 Observations

We uncovered the pan and scooted the beetles (who had congregated in one dark corner) toward the center of the pan. Then we placed the paper over the opposite side of the pan for this trial to avoid any directional bias. Again, we waited for five minutes, but the beetles rushed under the paper to the dark side of the pan even faster than before and never came back out.



It would seem our beetles prefer the dark!

A Realization!

So, I had a realization just barely. Remember how I just never wanted to clean out the dead skins from the pupa?  Well, I'm realizing now that they disappeared. And remember how I said they never eat?

EW, GROSS, SICK, NASTY!! Do you think they ATE the dead pupa and skins? Probably. Canibalism.

Another observation. Our beetles have been mating like CRAZY. Seriously guys, get a room. They are just mating all day every day. I'm worried that there might be a massive explosion of baby worms sometime in our near future. Brace yourselves.

Disgustingly Amused

I catch myself being strangely amused by our worm babies, pupae teenagers, and beetle adults. It's disgusting actually. These freaky creatures just....amaze me. Sorry this post is random, but trying to sum all my thoughts up into one cohesive statement just isn't working. So bare with me.

Welcome to your new home wormies and.....beetles?! You're not invited. 

 Trying to get a close up (unsuccessfully) of the worms and the half n' halfs.

Left: long worms. Right: disgusting beetle. 

Who thought that beetles came from WORMS?! Not I. 

The grossest picture of them all. There were seriously probably 30 of these nasties at one point.

Half n' halfs I like to call them. Half worm, half beetle. Fitting.

 A lonely beetle looking for friends who aren't worms or half n' halfs.

Ok, so I've had these stinkers for about 2 weeks by now. More than my fair share I think. But I took these pictures just the few days after I got them. Can I just tell you that every time I look the number of beetles has seriously tripled? It's frightening. I thought all the worms were dead because they kind of just shrivel up in the corner and hibernate for a few days. But then, before you know it, there are 500,000 beetles in there. (Ok, so you know that's an exaggeration, but not by very much....) 

Also, the night I got them I was really concerned that they would get out. Now that they can crawl and all. No more slithering. So, that night I had a dream--use your imagination. They were all in my bed, everywhere I went. In fact, that's why I didn't get a date with this boy I like. Sad, right? Yeah, turns out they're so "unintelligent" (I was going to say dumb but that seemed rude) that they can't even climb out. 

Observation #1,000,000: They don't eat. I put new fresh apples in when I first welcome them to my home. They didn't eat one bit. I have never seen a single worm and/or beetle eating anything. And to be honest, I haven't tried anything else. I'm starving our pets. Does that count as neglect? Well, they're still living...I guess that's a good sign? 

Ok, next thing. I know I need to clean out their cage, but I can't do it. There are old nasty shell-like things, skin, etc. all over. Rotten apples too. I can't. I'm so terrified of the beetles. 

Who wants 'em? They're up for adoption. 

METAMORPHOSIS!

You guys, our little babies are all grown up! I was getting nervous because I didn't see very many mealworms moving around; there always seemed to be about two on the paper towel, but the others looked dead. Today I went to clean their habitat and see what the death toll was, but I found a surprise under the paper towel! We have pupa and beetles! BEETLES! ALREADY!

The pupae look really interesting! They're fatter and lighter than the worms. I'm so glad I didn't just think they were dead worms! Also, there are at least three beetles hiding in the oats. Some of the beetles are black, and some are lighter brown.There are a few shedded skins/exoskeletons around the aquarium. I was worried the beetles might need something else to eat, but reading up online it looks like they eat the same thing as the larva (mealworms).

Overall, it looks like most of the mealworms are transitioning to pupa form, so there isn't much movement going on. It's all kind of exciting!

P.S. Maybe Rebekah should have had them before they became adults, lol :)




Also, it doesn't seem like the mealworms and beetles are eating the apples very much anymore. I put new ones in because I think it helps provide a little moisture in their aquarium/cage, but I rarely see any of them on the apples. Maybe they're more into grain now that their maturing?

My Relationship With The Worm Babies

Guys, I don't even have the worm babies right now. But is it fine that I make a post? Well, I'm going to anyway.

But here's my conclusion: I should have had the worm babies at the beginning of this little fiasco. They're getting too big for me now. I don't appreciate them as teenagers. I much prefer children.

I haven't even met the little guys and our relationship is already in jeopardy. I promise I won't kill them or anything--but I can't promise we'll be best friends.

New home, new stats!

Well, I can't find my camera to upload the pictures, but I will on another post.
The worms arrived at the Hall's house on Friday afternoon. I was feeling gloomy so the lights were off in the house, and the worms LOVED it! These worms are a big fan of the dark. The past two nights I have gotten up and walked by to see them crawling all over the place. I make it sound like there are a million of them... but not. I probably only see 10 at any given time. When the lights are on, they all manage to disappear under a potato, the paper towel, or under the oats. So observation #1- worms like dark. Observation #2- worms prefer apples over potatoes. The apples in the habitat were yucky and dried up so I removed all the shriveled pieces and replaced them with freshly chopped hunks of potato. I do not see the worms crawling all over the potato pieces as much as they did the apple. Observation #3- they do not like men. haha. just kidding! but really, my husband Austin was gone Friday until today (Monday) and this whole weekend they were pretty out and about, and the minute he walked in the door, I haven't seen too many worms crawling around. Maybe it's another special worm phase? I dunno, I need to do a little more research. I am a little worried about the little worms. We started with 100... and i don't see 100 at all... hmmm... anyways! Observation #4- worms are light to dark brown, with visable little lines going across them. They have an end, assuming its the head, that leads the crawling and likes to move side to side when its up on top of the paper towel or the potato. Hope these observations are insightful!? I am doing my best to keep these wormies alive.

Saying good-bye...

Today is the day, that I said good bye to my little worms.

There are many of them that could not even come out of the paper towel when I was saying good bye for fear they would cry, I am sure. I waved good bye and sent them on their way to a new home, new caretakers and...those are all the new things I can think of.

Here are just some stats to bring everyone up to date on our worms:
Living: I think almost all of them that started alive when I got them, are still alive. I only had to clean out two dead ones!
Weight: Based off the amount of potatos and apples they are consuming constantly, I am guessing that their food intake is going pretty well and therefore their weight is in check.
Activity: They are definitely night owls..er...worms. They come alive at night like no disco I have ever seen. This can also be simulated by having them in the dark... they love it.

My little worms are just growing up so fast...

Holy smokes! We have active little pets here. I have noticed that they are pretty lethargic-ish during the day, and then become SUPER active at night! They are all over the place. It is kind of fun to watch. Maybe the prefer darkness? That is what Katie and I decided. Currently there is a paper towel on top of some of them, and they have come to live IN the paper towel. Don't ask me how they do it, who even knew our little mealworms were so talented?! They are getting so long and going through apple slices like we go through toilet paper. I think that means we are being successful. Hopefully some of them live to become Beatles...yes, apparently our mealworms are growing up to me rockstars! ...I definitely mean beetles. Wouldn't that be sweet? Yeah, my roommates also think I am crazy. Along with my entire FHE group who thought that I was raising mealworms for fun. Who does that?! They have all shed their 'skin' and I am REALLY grateful I am not assigned to clean out their 'cage'. Katie want to come over and do it?! ;) I just can not force myself to be ok with it. I have yet to convince myself to hold one..or my roommates. We have also picked up the naming task where Katie and her sibs left off. It is coming along nicely.

Who is a proud guardian? :)

Here are a few pictures of our worm friends from when I first got them until last night! ENJOY!

Cute right?!

Death Toll

I cleaned out 16 dead worms today. Along with a ton a worm skins. They are shedding their skin like crazy.

I also possibly witnessed one in the process of dying. It was strange. He was just lying there then started thrashing around and flipped on his back and did it too. I have never seen one do that before. They typically slither, or appear to slither. They do have six legs so that is really what carries them.

The worms are a lot bigger than they were before. They are brownish white in color. They are almost always underneath the oats. Sometimes they will surface, mostly when they are about to die. I put the damp paper towel in their tank (I mentioned it in the last entry). I am not sure if it helped with moisture but they surface more with it in there. So I kept it there. Sometimes they even crawl on top of it.

The potatoes are almost completely done with. Only a little bit remains (I was going to throw it away but a worm was inside of it.) I added some apple to the tank.

This is my final note before the worms emigrate to Rebekah's house! Safe journey, worms!

Are They Dead?!

I was a little scared the past couple days because I thought I killed all the worms. No worries. Only a couple died (I think).

I was worried that they aren't getting enough moisture though. So I did some more research online and found a site that said its a good idea to put a damp (not wet) paper towel over the top of them. So I am going to try that and see what happens.

One reason I thought they were all dead was because they are not really moving. But online it said that during the   pupa stage they are dormant because they are going through metamorphosis. So maybe they are just in that stage.

Most of them are still brown though. Which is still the larva stage. So I am a little confused at what stage they are actually at. I'll give it a couple more days and do some more research and see what I find out.

They have also been shedding their skin a lot. So that has been cleaned out of the tank!

welcome home!

Erin, Kendra, and I brought the little guys home yesterday. The habitat was immediately set up.

Oatmeal. With potatoes for food and moisture. 

(I had an old fish tank so we put them in there)

Almost immediately when I put them in they burrowed underneath the oatmeal. A few made their way over to the potatoes. I thought Ike got stuck on top of one:

But don't worry! He got down all by himself!

This all happened yesterday. When I went to check on them today I thought they were all dead! There was no movement! I picked one up. Yup. Dead. Poor Sike. I tried another. Pike was still alive. But barely. I wonder if they need more moisture? I cut up some more potato and put it around the tank. We'll see tomorrow if that was successful. 

They are also shedding their skins. A lot of dead worm skins were on top of the oatmeal today. 

Other notes: They are very tiny and white. Their head end is little bit darker, and they have teeny tiny little legs towards that end. 

The Beginning

Please tell me this is what our worms look like. I could deal with this. No, you say?

Well, maybe we could refer to them as something other than mealworms? Like, "the gang." Just imagine...

Shelley: "How was the gang this weekend?"
Kendra: "Well, they didn't like the B-ball game as much as I thought they would..."
Katie: "Yeah, last time we hung out, all they wanted to do was eat."
Rebekah: "Well, I don't know what they did last time I had them, but there's suddenly a lot more of them..."
Erin: "Oh, dear."

Okay, maybe not a great idea, but I'm still adjusting to the idea of having over a hundred bugs in my apartment. VOLUNTARILY! Gross... I haven't even told my roommates yet. The things we do for education! Sheesh!

Well, I'm assuming I'll get used to it. And I actually think I might use mealworms in my class one day because I'm thinking that my plans to get two bunnies might get out of hand :)

Any suggestions for what sort of observations we should make? Number? Size? Color? Food preference? I'm guessing we'll need to do some research to figure out what stage of the life cycle we see them in. Here's a starter: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mealworm

Okay, I just read it and learned our mealworms become beetles. I didn't sign up for this! :) Actually, I believe Dr. Cantrell said they would never get past the pupa stage, or something like that. We'll see. Good luck!