Yellow Mealworm
General Description
| · Adults of the yellow mealworm are shiny dark brown or black, about 1.25 cm long.
· When the larva is fully grown, it is a little over 2.5 cm. The body is elongated and cylindrical, and has a harder body wall than the larvae of most other stored product pests. The body has a shiny yellow or light brown appearance, with only a few scattered setae.
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Credit: Udo Schmidt
Life Cycle and Common Characteristics
- Mealworms (adults and larvae) are usually found in dark, damp places in spoiled grain products. In residences, they are common in basements or at soil grade level.
- Mealworm adults are slow-moving insects.
- Adult mealworms live only about 10 weeks.
- Each female lays about 275 eggs, which hatch into larvae that grow to 2.25 cm long.
- The insect may remain in the larval stage for up to 600 days, depending on temperatures.
Damage and Economic Implications
- Larvae are active and are found in all sorts of unusual places in addition to breakfast cereals, macaroni, and feed mills.
