Mealworm Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Anthropoda
Family: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Class: Tenebrionidae
Genus: Tenebrio
Species: T. molitor
What is the life cycle of a mealworm?
The mealworm goes through 4 stages of life. The mealworm starts in egg form. This stage lasts about 1-4 weeks and then it hatches and a larva emerges. The larva stage lasts about 8-10 weeks. Once the mealworm as grown enough it transforms into a pupa. The pupa stage lasts about 1-3 weeks. During this stage it does not eat and the only thing it can do is wiggle a little bit and grow into its adult form. The last stage of the mealworm is the adult stage. The mealworm has now turned into a beetle and this stage lasts from 1 - 3 months. After about 1-2 weeks of the adult stage, the beetles then start to mate and reproduce. The female beetles will then lay eggs and it starts all over again.
Fun fact: Female mealworms can lay hundreds of eggs during their adult lives.
How do mealworms breathe?
There are tiny vents on the bottom of the mealworm to let it breathe.
What do mealworms eat?
Mealworms are decomposers and they will eat anything in decomposition status. Mealworms love to eat grains and oats. To get the water that they need to live, mealworms will eat living plants. When we were raising them in our shoebox, we gave the carrots and that was how our mealworms got their water.
Where do mealworms live?
Mealworms live near what they eat. They prefer dry and dark areas. They like to burrow in grain or in dry grass. Mealworms often clean up after plants and animal and therefore would be found in areas where there are plants or animals. Mealworms are not native to North America.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Anthropoda
Family: Insecta
Order: Coleoptera
Class: Tenebrionidae
Genus: Tenebrio
Species: T. molitor
What is the life cycle of a mealworm?
The mealworm goes through 4 stages of life. The mealworm starts in egg form. This stage lasts about 1-4 weeks and then it hatches and a larva emerges. The larva stage lasts about 8-10 weeks. Once the mealworm as grown enough it transforms into a pupa. The pupa stage lasts about 1-3 weeks. During this stage it does not eat and the only thing it can do is wiggle a little bit and grow into its adult form. The last stage of the mealworm is the adult stage. The mealworm has now turned into a beetle and this stage lasts from 1 - 3 months. After about 1-2 weeks of the adult stage, the beetles then start to mate and reproduce. The female beetles will then lay eggs and it starts all over again.
Fun fact: Female mealworms can lay hundreds of eggs during their adult lives.
How do mealworms breathe?
There are tiny vents on the bottom of the mealworm to let it breathe.
What do mealworms eat?
Mealworms are decomposers and they will eat anything in decomposition status. Mealworms love to eat grains and oats. To get the water that they need to live, mealworms will eat living plants. When we were raising them in our shoebox, we gave the carrots and that was how our mealworms got their water.
Where do mealworms live?
Mealworms live near what they eat. They prefer dry and dark areas. They like to burrow in grain or in dry grass. Mealworms often clean up after plants and animal and therefore would be found in areas where there are plants or animals. Mealworms are not native to North America.