Originally published at: Watch timelapse video of 10,000 mealworms devouring a tomato, corn, and romanesco broccoli | Boing Boing
…
3 Likes
Yup…that’s not gross even alittle bit…
4 Likes
Now let’s turn the tables and put a couple of hungry bluebirds in there.
5 Likes
Watch timelapse video of 10,000 mealworms devouring a tomato, corn, and romanesco broccoli
I’m not 100% sure, but I think I counted 10,001.
1 Like
This is happening in a 5 gallon bucket behind me as I type this.
Zophobas “king” mealworms are great as they’re such nasty eaters that they’ve evolved not to pupate around others of their kind (lest they get eaten), unlike the smaller Tenebrio mealworms.
But my advice… do not feed them broccoli (or any of it’s relatives), as their very short digestive tracts will produce enough broccoli gas to make an entire room smell like a bad broccoli fart.
Cool thing: their gut bacteria can apparently process styrofoam.
7 Likes
Yeah, raw tomatoes are just yucky.
1 Like
You’ve got to root for the late stage tomato feeders who still climb up the tough skin rather than eat the soft flesh from underneath.
I’d select those ones for my private mealworm army.
Are these the same things that eat the meat off animals for museum displays?
No. Both are beetle larvae but mealworms are Tenebrio larvae and the flesh-eating ones used by museums are dermestid beetle larvae.
A friend who works in the Field Museum in Chicago showed me their beetle room for skeleton preparation. Apparently I was the first guest that he’d seen walk in and pick some up; seems like the natural thing to do to me. They eat dead flesh and very slowly, no threat to a person
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
