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Young larvae are white, darkening with age. Larvae of yellow mealworms are honey-yellow, while dark mealworms are dark-brown. Learn about the different insects and pests that affect gardens, lawns and food crops, and how to deal with them. |
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Yellow and Dark Mealworms
Submit your comments, tips, or suggestions you'd like to share with other users regarding this article. Reference: Ohio State University Extension
Mealworms are usually only occasional pests of the homeowner. They are considered scavengers and are among the largest insects that infest stored products. Most prefer to feed on decaying grain or milled cereals in damp, poor conditions. These insects are usually found in places not frequently disturbed such as dark corners, under sacks, in bins and where feed is stored. Indoors, they are usually found in basements or at grade level, sometimes infesting cornmeal, flour, cake mixes, cereals, meat scraps, dead insects, bran and litter from chicken houses. Mealworms have been found living under old carpeting and in straw-stuffed chairs in damp areas. Yellow mealworm larvae are known as "golden grubs" and make excellent fish bait and serve as food for animals in aquariums and zoological parks.
Identification Mealworms have a smooth, highly polished, shiny, elongate, hard, cylindrical (wormlike) body about 1/8 inch thick and up to 1-1/4 inches long at maturity. Beetles are robust, black and nearly 3/4 inch long, resembling many ground beetles in size, shape and color. Yellow mealworm adults are shiny, dark-brown or black, whereas dark mealworm adults are dull, pitchy black. Eggs are white, bean-shaped and about 1/20 inch long. Pupae are white at first, turning yellow, and are not enclosed in a case or cocoon. Mealworm adults do not move as fast as ground beetles. Also, the hind leg of a mealworm adult has only four tarsal segments, while the hind leg of a ground beetle has five tarsal segments. Life Cycle and Habits Most larvae mature by fall, overwinter and pupate in the spring, with the pupal stage lasting 7 to 24 days. Adults emerge in the spring and early summer, living two to three months. Control Measures Prevention Use good night-light discipline to reduce beetle attraction and infestation indoors. Sanitation is the simplest means of controlling mealworms. Moist, dark, undisturbed areas containing damp grain or milled cereals should be eliminated. Litter remaining in old or abandoned poultry houses can create explosive infestations, bothering residents as far as 1/2 mile away. Poultry litter dumped into piles outdoors can result in mealworm migrations indoors. Waste grain products in a sanitary landfill may become a source of infestation. Eggs and larvae of mealworms are sometimes accidentally eaten in cereals and breakfast foods. These infestations in foods and seeds can be eliminated by heating in a shallow pan in the oven at 130°F for 30 minutes or placed in a deep freeze at 0°F for seven days. However, seeds saved for planting may have the germination reduced after super heating or cooling. Sometimes simply collecting individual mealworms with a broom and dustpan and crushing before disposal is useful. Insecticides
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| Data Source: Ohio State University Extension. Articles and resource may contain pesticide recommendations that are subject to change at any time. These recommendations are provided only as a guide and it is always the pesticide applicator's responsibility, by law, to read and follow all current label directions for the specific pesticide being used. |
