Mealworms Practical

STAGE 1
Description Of Mealworms:
- Brown
- Thin
- Long
- Six Legs (Insect)
- Has Antennas
- Dry
- Smooth
- Has Segments

List Of Questions:
1) Do Mealworms Prefer noisy or quiet environments?
2) Do Mealworms Prefer Wet Or Dry Surfaces?
3) Do Mealworms Prefer Dark Or Bright Places?
4) Do Mealworms Prefer Cold Or Warm Places?
5) Do Mealworms Prefer To Huddle In Groups Or Be Alone?

STAGES 2, 3 & 4
Experiment 1: Do Mealworms Prefer Black Or White Surfaces?
Hypothesis: Mealworms Prefer Black Surfaces
Materials: Black And White Paper, 6 Mealworms

Procedures:
1) Put All 6 Mealworms In The Centre Of The Paper
2) Observe Them For 30 Seconds
3)Count The number Of Mealworms At Each part Of The Paper
4) Repeat The Experiment 3 Times

Independent Variable: Colour Of Surface
Dependant Variable: Number Of Mealworms
Control Variable: Amount Of Time Given For The Mealworms To Move

Observation:

Surface/ No. of Mealworms	1st Reading	2nd Reading	3rd Reading	Average
Black	3	4	3	3.0 (to 1 sig. fig.)
White	3	2	3	3.0 (to 1 sig. fig.)

Conclusion: Mealworms Have No Preference For Surface Colouring.
Reliability: We did the experiment 3 times to ensure the results are accurate.

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Experiment 2: Do Mealworms Prefer Light Or Dark Places?
Hypothesis: Mealworms Prefer Dark Places.
Materials: Black Box With Small Opening, Torchlight, Timer, 6 Mealworms

Procedures:
1) Put All 6 Mealworms In The Box
2) Shine The Torchlight Through The Opening At The Top Of The Box
3) Observe Them For 30 Seconds
4) Repeat The Experiment 3 Times

Independent Variable: Presence Of Light
Dependant Variable: Presence Of Mealworms
Control Variable: Amount Of Time Given For The Mealworms To Move

Observation:

All The Mealworms Moved To The Corners Of The Box, Where There Is No Light Present.

Conclusion: Mealworms Prefer Dark Places To Bright Places.
Reliability: We did the experiment 3 times to ensure the results are accurate.

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Experiment 3: Do Mealworms Prefer Being Touched By A Soft Brush Or Cotton Bud?
Hypothesis: Mealworms Prefer Being Touched By A Cotton Bud.
Materials: Soft Brush, Cotton Bud, 6 Mealworms

Procedures:
1) Put All 6 Mealworms In The Bowl
2) Gently Touch Each Of Them With The Soft Brush
3) Observe Them
4) Repeat The Experiment With Cotton Bud
5) Observe Them
6) Repeat The Whole Experiment 3 Times

Independent Variable: Type Of Touch
Dependant Variable: Reaction Of Mealworms
Control Variable: Amount Of Strength Used For Each Item

Observation:

The mealworms reacted very strongly to the soft brush by twitching their whole body. However, when the cotton bud was used, they just crawled forward.

Conclusion: Mealworms Prefer The Touch Of Cotton Bud To The Soft Brush.
Reliability: We did the experiment 3 times to ensure the results are accurate.

Walkingstick Predation

Try the simulated population of walkingstcks that exhibit colour variation to investigate the impact of predation on the insects in 3 different environments. Conduct predation interactions over 5 generations, collect population statistics, and graph the numbers of individuals with colour trait in each generation. 
You should be able to see that the ratio of individuals with specific colour traits varies, depending on the colour of the environment in which they live.
Record the data of your findings in your journal. You are a predator. You prey on walkingsticks. This is what the walkingstick looks like.  a. Open the walkingstick multimedia program to Level 1—Eat Insects. b. Select the 30 Clicks to Eat Insects button. c. Use your 30 clicks to eat as many as you can. d. Then click the Results button. e. Record your results in the table shown below in your journal. f. Click Start Over and select 30 Seconds to Eat Insects. Eat as many insects as you can in 30 seconds. g. Record your results in the table below in your journal.

		Brown	Green-Brown	Green
30 clicks	Eaten	11	10	9
	Survived	5	6	7
30 seconds	Eaten	10	8	11
	Survived	6	8	5

  Write responses to these items in your journal.1.     Which color of walkingstick was easiest to find? Which was hardest? Why do you think that was the case?

The brown walkingsticks were the easiest to find and the green-brown ones were the hardest.

2. Which color of walkingstick survived best when there was a time limit on feeding? Why do you think that color survived best?

The green-brown ones survived best when there was a time limit on feeding. Green-brown walkingsticks have the closest colour to the bushes, hence it was more difficult to spot them.

3. Discuss the results of the walkingstick predation in terms of adaptations.

Walking sticks have adapted to their environment by camouflaging into the bushes. By having similar body colouring to the bushes, they will be less obvious when observed from far.

 
ENRICHMENT: NEW BREEDING RULE ACTIVITY a. Open the walkingstick multimedia program to Level 3—New Breeding Rules. b. Select to Eat Insects for 30 seconds. c. Choose the Population Size at 48. d. Then click the Continue button. e. Choose the bamboo environment and beging "eating" the walkingsticks f. Click on Results when the time runs out. Continue to the next generation and repeat for 5 generations. g. When you have completed all 5 generations, click on the Print results. Enter your name and class. h. When the dialog box pop up don't print but "save as pdf". You will be able to save a copy of the table in your desktop

 

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