Mealworm

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iMealworm beetle

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Tenebrionidae
Genus:	Tenebrio
Species:	T. molitor

Binomial name

Tenebrio molitor
Linnaeus, 1758

Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life-stages: egg, larva, pupa, and beetle. Larvae typically measure around 2.5cm or more, whereas adults are generally between 1.25 and 1.8cm in length.

Mealworms are typically used as a food source for reptile and avian pets. They are also provided to wild birds in bird feeders, particularly during the nesting season when birds are raising their young and appreciate a ready food supply.

1 Obtaining mealworms
2 Storage and care
3 Giant Mealworms
4 Human consumption
5 External links

[edit] Obtaining mealworms

Mealworms nestled in a bedding of bran within a plastic container.

Mealworms can be purchased at most pet stores and are also available via mail order and the internet. Mealworms can also be eaten by humans, for example, by sauteing them with vegetables. They are also a popular fishing bait.

Mealworms purchased in a pet store are typically sold in a container with bran bedding. Since mealworms are the larval stage of the darkling beetle, their primary behavior is to eat and grow. Mealworms need a warm, dry environment to survive; the mealworm gets its water from sucking it out of fruits.

[edit] Storage and care

To slow down metabolism and growing process, the mealworm larva may be stored in a refrigerator or other cool place.

If you intend to breed mealworms for food/bait then you should keep them in a warm dry place. Keep them on a bed of dry bran and feed them dry dog biscuits. Moisture should be provided once or twice weekly in the form of vegetables with a high moisture content, such as potatoes, cucumbers and lettuce. Then just keep them warm and avoid excess moisture building up and they will do the rest.

[edit] Giant Mealworms

Commercial growers incorporate a juvenile hormone in to the feeding process, to keep the mealworm in the larval stage and achieve an abnormal length of 2 cm or greater. This crop is primarily sold for fishing bait. One grower has also developed a process that changes the color of the larvae to a somewhat red color.

[edit] Human consumption

Mealworms have been incorporated into tequila flavored novelty candies. However, mealworms are not traditionally served in tequila or mezcal drinks, the latter sometimes containing a larval moth (Hypopta agavis).