A Meal For Worms
Antivities > A Meal For Worms
This experiment allows you to test the affect of insect population growth due to the amount of food the population gets.
What You Will Learn
This experiment allows you to test the affect of insect population growth due to the amount of food the population gets.
What You Will Need
- Mealworms
First, You will need to go to a bait store or a pet store and buy a container of mealworm larvae (about 50). Try to get older larva for this experiment. 
2-liter soda bottles
Two soda bottles with the tops cut off will be perfect for raising your new family of mealworms!- Cornmeal
Your mealworms will need something to eat! Cornmeal is cheap and easy to find at any grocery store. - An apple or a potato
Just a slice of this will give your mealworm family all the moisture they will need for a week at a time.
What To Do
Now make two suitable containers to rear the mealworms. A two-liter soda bottle works well.
- Cut the top off and use the bottom half of the bottles, place about twenty mealworm larvae into each container.
- Next, add two cups of cornmeal to one container and one cup of cornmeal to the other container.
- Add a slice of apple or potato to each container for moisture.
- Label the containers as A and B.
- This activity is designed to determine how well each test group does with a fixed amount of food so do not add any additional cornmeal to either container. Replace the potato or apple slice every week. When you do this, count the number of new larvae, pupa, and adults. Do this for 12- 15 weeks and record your observations on the charts (39KB pdf).
Think About It
Q: What did you observe about mealworm feeding activities?
Q: Why is it important to record the observations as soon as possible?
Q: How did you use the scientific method?
Q: What effect did the amount of food have on the population?
Q; How would you redesign the experiment to test the effect of potatoes on mealworm survivability?
