Effect of Food Choice on Growth and Survival of Mealworms

by Ngozi Nnaeto (V), Monroe Russell (V), James Thomas (VI)

Our project sought to investigate the effects of food choice on the growth and survival rate of Tenebrio molitor or mealworms. We assessed four diets, PVC plastic, PET plastic, styrofoam, vegetables, and a control of bran to investigate this research question. The mealworms were sorted into groups of ten, each with their respective diets. They were then bred for 25 days, and their growth and survival rates were recorded. However, despite constant upkeep, none of the mealworms on the vegetable diet survived. Several factors contributed to this, including excessive moisture and temperature. Therefore, the vegetable trial was excluded from our conclusion. The mealworms on the bran diet showed the highest growth, with a change in mass percentage of +400%, PVC with +200%, PETE with +190%, and styrofoam with +150%. A Chi-square analysis of the change in mass percentage yielded A X2 of

0.91, meaning we fail to reject the null hypothesis: Mealworms on the three diets will have the same survival rate. Bran also showed the highest survival rate of 90%, 80% of the PVC-dieted mealworms, 70% of the PETE-dieted mealworms, and 20% of the Styrofoam-dieted mealworms survived. Using the Chi-Square analysis, the survival data yielded an X2 value of 1.012. Thus, we failed to reject the null hypothesis: mealworms on the three diets will have the same mass. A larger sample size could confirm this result. This study highlights the importance of selecting appropriate mealworm diets for optimal growth and survival rates. Creating an efficient system using T. molitor for plastic reduction could provide a novel solution to one of the world’s most crucial problems.