Mealworm Research Paper

In our fourth and final lab for Biology 100, we are dealing with the beetle larva mealworms. This worm-like animal is, in fact, not a worm; they are larva for the tenebrionid beetle. These larvae are most commonly used in order to feed household pets. For example: reptiles, fish, and birds. Tenebrio larvae are also considered pests to the most businesses.

When the Larvae are ingested by a human they turn into adult tapeworms and live in the intestines of humans, this is called an intestinal infection. They can live for up to 30- years in there host

The cycle of gut worms begin within the remains of cattle feces. Once cattle are infected, the eggs pass through the digestion system and the remains are left in the pasture. They then eat the larval stages that have migrated to the pasture. There is further development through several more larval stages in the cows gastrointestinal system before the worms become sexually mature and can start producing eggs. The development inside the cow usually takes about 3 weeks to reach the egg producing stage. The whole cycle from egg to a mature, egg producing worm takes around 5 weeks. In some cases, the development within the cow can stop and the larvae become

“Peculiarities in the silkworm are known to appear at the corresponding caterpillar or cocoon stage”

Mealworms have a very interesting ecology. They are the 2nd stage in the life cycle of the darkling beetle. Their scientific name is Alphitobius diaperinus. They are also considered pests in the poultry industry. Mealworms have 6 legs and they are located at the front of their body. The mealworms go through their stage of the life cycle in 40-100 days.

There are approximately 800 million people that have acquired whipworm infections. Whipworm infections not only occur in humans, but can also occur in animals such as dogs and cats. Contamination with the whipworm usually accidentally occurs as a result of touching the contaminated dirt and then touching the hands to the mouth. Contamination might also occur by not properly washing vegetables or fruits before consumption. After ingestion of the whipworm eggs, the eggs typically travel to the small intestines via the gastrointestinal tract. In the small intestines the eggs then hatch and the larvae grow to maturity. The adult worm them developes in the large intestines. The female worms that are present in the large intestines can begin to transfer eggs into the intestines within two months. Female worms can produce from approximately three thousand to twenty thousand eggs in a twenty four hour

During the paper worm lab, My group worked to solidify our lab data and detect how the worm engages with the universal solvent, water. The experiment focuses on determining whether the paper worm is straight or curvy. Personally, I believe the tightness of the worm prior to conducting the experiment affect your overall data. My data was very distinct from the others in my group because my worm seemed more compact in comparison to other individuals. The independent variable of this lab is the number of drops given by the pipette and the dependent variable of the overall length of the paper worm and the radius change, using both the rating system and just a simple determination (straight or curvy). You may alter the independent variable by for

The next step involves the collection of the insects and beetles from the body and scene. Adult flies should be caught with a net, and then immobilized in a glass killing jar consisting of a cotton ball soaked in ethyl acetate. After a few minutes the adult flies can be transferred to vial with 75% ethyl alcohol. For the collection of beetles, using forceps or gloved fingers beetle can be placed directly into a vial of 75% ethyl alcohol. The next step is the collection of eggs and approximately 60 larvae from the maggot mass. These can be placed in a killing solution or ethyl alcohol. For multiple sites of maggot colonization, samples should be taken separately. The process should be repeated for obtaining live, non-preserved

Like all beetles, jewel beetles undergo metamorphosis. They go through four life stages; egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Females usually deposit eggs on the host tree in the crevices of the bark. When they hatch, they immediately tunnel in to the tre. This is where they feed and develop. An adult then exits the tree.

Tapeworms are in the Class Cestoda. They are long, flat, and parasitic, mostly live in the intestines. Have a scolex; structure that contains suckers and/or hooks. They have proglottids, which are they're body segments. Each proglottid is a hermaphrodite (both female and male reproductive parts). The tapeworms testes produce sperm, which fertilize the eggs to form a zygote, zygote passes through the feces, a dormant, protective cyst is formed in the immediate host. People most commonly get tapeworm from eating raw meat. All tapeworms spend most of their lives in a vertebrate animal, called a primary host. Most spend their lives in tissues of animals, called secondary hosts. Tapeworms occur worldwide, grow to about 1mm to 15mm.

The phylum Nematodes Greek word meaning (Thread) also known as roundworms are one of the most common phyla of animals. There are over 80,000 different species of roundworms, although there are only about 60 types of species that can live in a human. Roundworms can be found in water, and on land. Roundworms have a complete digestive system with two separate openings one for food and one for getting rid of waste. This type of digestive system is very common in complex animal. Nematodes use external and internal pressure and body movement to move food through their digestive tracts. As the roundworm grows it molts and forms new cuticles. Most Nematodes are microscopic though a few parasitic forms can grow to be several inches in length.

What is the life cycle of your worm? The life cycle of my worm is eggs are passed in waste, the eggs then hatch and release miracidia, the parasite develops in a molluscan intermediate host, humans are exposed to the dermatitis-producing cercariae, cercariae then makes it’s way to the skin of birds and their blood vessels. Where are the eggs laid? They lay their eggs inside the host animal. Where do the adult worms live? The adult worms are found in the blood vessels where they make eggs that are then passed to waste.

4. The worms start off as babies in the bloodstream of an animal where they are sucked out by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes will bite a new victim and put the worm in the the animal where it will go to a lymph gland and start to spread disease and irritate the host. The adults stay for around 5 years if not treated. The adults will reproduce and the babies will go to the blood where the process will restart.

Mealworms are detritivores that are found in any place that is very dry, moderately warm, and dark. They live under rocks and logs, animal burrows and stored grain. They eat seedling and mainly grains, hence the name “mealworm.” Mealworms are the primary consumer of grain and seedlings in a forest environment. They are the scavengers of a forest environment. They’re predators include lizards, rodents, predator beetles, spiders and birds. They have positive and negative effects on the environment. Positive effects are; they clean up organic material to be used as compost in dirt. They are prey to other animals so the other animals can eat them and get energy. Mealworms have some negative effects as as well. These are; they are pests to stored

C.elegans, also called CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS are a nematode, a member of phylum Nematoda. C.elegans are non-infectious, non-hazardous, non-pathogenic, non-parasitic organism. They grow to about 1mm in length and lives in soil. C.elegans survive by feeding on microbes such as bacteria. This worm has four larval stages (L1-L4). In favorable environments, C. elegans undergoes reproductive development and progresses rapidly from embryo through four larval stages (L1–L4) to the adult in 3–5 d (15°C–20°C). Adults then live another 2–3 weeks. C.elegans nematodes have neurons, gut, muscles,skins, and other tissues that are very similar in form, genetics , and functions to those of humans. Scientists can study developmental mechanisms in C. elegans