Mealworm Behavior Lab

Mealworm Behavior 

Introduction:
Animals live in different environments but if new conditions arise, they will react.  Some animals will stick to their original habitat and react by not doing anything at all, but others will adapt.  Temporary variables can also be introduced to an environment, and some animals will react, while others will not react at all.  The goal of this experiment is to see which variables the mealworms will respond to with a significant migration, from light vs. dark, to the presence of food.  Our hypothesis is that they will react and often choose one side over the other instead of being partial to both.
Hypothesis for  experiments 1,2,3,5,6 (not supposed to do 4):1st experiment - mealworms will constantly be moving around the container and not choose a particular spot to remain in.2nd experiment -  Mealworms will orient themselves related to the brightness of the background (meaning that they will choose one over the other).3rd experiment -  Mealworms will not orient themselves related to the moisture of the environment.5th experiment - Mealworms will orient themselves related to the temperature of the environment6th experiment - Mealworms will gravitate towards food and move there.
Materials:
  • 10 mealworms
  • petri dish
  • white paper
  • black paper
  • moist paper towel
  • dry paper towel
  • watermelon piece
  • hot rock
Procedures:
1st experiment - Observation1. Place 10 mealworms in a petri dish or box. If they are trying to climb out, you will need to cover the container with a clear top.2. Observe the mealworms for 10 minutes. Record your observations of their general movements, interactions with each other, and appearance. Do they spend more time in one part of the dish more than another? Do they keep moving, move sporadically, or eventually settle down? Are there any actions or behaviors that involve two or more mealworms? It is important not to interfere with the mealworms in any way during this observation period! Doing so may alter the data you are recording. Don’t worry, we’ll get to change their environment soon!3. Performing this step will allow you to see what “normal” mealworm behavior is like, and therefore be able to better compare it to our experimental behaviors.

2nd experiment - Light vs. Dark1. Place white paper in one half of the box (or under the half of the petri dish), and black paper in (or under) the other half.2. Place 10 mealworms in the very center of the container.3. Every minute for 10 minutes count the number of mealworms on each half of the container. Continue counting for the full time period even if the mealworms have stopped moving or all are on one side.

3rd experiment - Moisture1. Put damp paper towel in one half of the box (or petri dish) and dry paper towel in the other half.2. Place 10 mealworms in the very center of the container.3. Every minute for 10 minutes count the number of mealworms on each half of the container. Continue counting for the full time period even if the mealworms have stopped moving or all are on one side.

5th experiment - Temperature1. Place one half of the petri dish on a hot rock set on low. Stack a book, box, or other flat substance under the other half so that the container is as close to level as possible.2. Place 10 mealworms in the very center of the container.3. Every minute for 10 minutes count the number of mealworms on each half of the container. Continue counting for the full time period even if the mealworms have stopped moving or all are on one side.

6th experiment - Food 1. Set up a container as in experiment #2.  Place a piece of watermelon on the far edge of the light side.2. Place 10 mealworms on one side of the container.3. Observe if the mealworms move towards the food or stay put4. Every minute for 10 minutes count the number of mealworms on each half of the container. Continue counting for the full time period even if the mealworms have stopped moving or all are on one side.

Observations / Data:1st experiment:
https://youtu.be/BxE2eZqSwdg 
Excel sheet with DATA for experiments 2,3,5,6: mealworm lab variables

Results:1st experiment - The hypothesis was CORRECT.  One of them did not really move at all.  Some would crawl around in a circle on the edges.  Others were rubbing against each other.  Some were in the middle, while others were on the outer circle.  They would go one way, then sporadically switch to the other direction.  Those in the middle began to migrate towards the outer edge.  One just doesn't move, presumed dead.  Group of 8 begin to congregate together in one spot.  Some form a long along the edge.  Then they all moved to the other side.  They were climbing over each other.  They spend more time in groups and began to move to the middle more.  They also move their heads a lot.   They generally stay in groups and like to move together or behind one another in a line.
2nd experiment - The hypothesis was INCORRECT and mealworms do not have a preference for a light or dark back ground because in the beginning most were on the black side but then they migrated to the white side but then migrated back.
3rd experiment - The hypothesis was INCORRECT and mealworms have a preference for a damp environment as in the beginning only 2 were on the damp side but then migration occurred quickly and by the 3rd minute 7+ worms stayed on the damp side at all times.
5th experiment - They hypothesis was CORRECT and mealworms preferred a cold environment.  Initially it was half and half, but the migration to the cold side began and after 4 minutes there were already 8 on the cold side.  By the end of ten minutes (the minute from 9-10) there were no worms on the hot rock, and all ten were on the cold surface.
6th experiment - The hypothesis was somewhat CORRECT because the mealworms did indeed migrate towards the food as by the end of the 10 minutes it was half and half, but not all the worms moved there.  We attribute this to the fact that the worms were simply tired and were not hungry and probably did not see the food as it was on the other side of the petri dish where they were congregated.

Conclusion:Our hypothesis was correct because only 1 out of the 5 experiments showed that mealworms do not have a preference for the variable introduced.  The observations concluded from this experiment are that mealworms definitely prefer certain environments, and will move towards food if it is nearby.  This is an indication that mealworms have a need to explore as new variables arise and they will choose one option over another, without being impartial.

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