Mealworm Web Quest
Will mealworms
solve the garbage
problem?
Student Overview
It is the year 2020 and our country is about to be overrun with
garbage. The President has called you, a renowned expert on
butterfly metamorphosis, to determine whether mealworms would
be helpful in reducing the amount of stinking garbage that is piling
up all over the place. You and your team have been assigned to help
develop a habitat, which can support the reproduction of
mealworms so that their usefulness for this task can be studied.
You need to find out what type of environment mealworms need to
have, what they eat, and the job that they do for the Earth. When
your task is complete, you will present your finding to your peers
through one of the following communications vehicles:
•Computer slide show
•Poster
As a result of completing this web
quest, you will:
•Design a habitat to raise your
mealworm in, as well as discover
how to care for it.
•Be able to tell what mealworms
eat.
•Describe their life cycle.
•Discuss the job that mealworms
do for the Earth.
•Combine all learned information
and present it in the form of a
computer slide show, or poster.
Vocabulary
As an expert you need to know certain words. Below is a list of words that
you will need to know.
Go to www.wordcentral.com and look up the words below. Choose the
definition that is related to mealworms. Write each word and the definition
on the vocabulary page of your journal.
Use these definitions when to help you with your task.
MetamorphosisMealwormMoltingPupaTenebrio BeetleLarvaEggHabitat-.
Task One
Step One: Make sure you have your journal with you
to record your findings.
•Your first research assignment is to find out what foods your
mealworm will eat and how you can set up a habitat that it
could survive in.
Click on the links below and read all about the mealworm
and record your information in your journal. It is always
good to check out a number of sources and record
information to make sure it is accurate.
http://www.uen.org/utahlink/activities/view_activity.cgi?activity_id=3022
http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/downloads/RaisingMealworms.pdf
http://insected.arizona.edu/mealinfo.htm
Step Two: You still need your journal and now you will
research how mealworms find food in their natural
environment? Use your journal to record your findings.
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/beetl
es/mealworm/
Step Three: You will now read about the mealworms
instinctive behavior. This means what it will do naturally
to protect itself or as it changes. The answers won’t pop
out at you. You must take the time to read the
paragraphs. Click on the following link to find your
answers. Record your answers in your journal.
http://www.javafinch.com/feed/live/live.html
Task Two
You need to record the stage of the mealworms
Metamorphosis Life Cycle. Use the sheet in your journal
labeled Metamorphosis Wheel to record your findings.
Things to remember when completing this task:
1.Record your information correctly.
2. Label the stages. (example, stage one)
3.Name the stages. (example, larva)
Use the link below to find the answer to what the Mealworms
Metamorphosis Life Cycle looks like.
http://www.javafinch.com/feed/live/live.html
Task Three
You now have your mealworms. Use the pages
in your journal titled, Draw what you observe… and record
your observations each time. It takes time, but you should see
a Tenebrio Beetle in about a month.
Be sure to include the following items on your page:
1. Date
2. Time
3. Color
4. Size
5. Write at least three sentences describing what you see
your mealworm doing or how it has changed. Be
descriptive
6. Don’t forget to draw what you see.
Task Four
You have gathered a lot of information about the
Mealworm. It is up to your partner and you to
decide whether or not the mealworm can solve the garbage
problem. Make sure in your paragraph that you answer
the following questions:
1. Do you believe the mealworm can solve the garbage
problem? Yes or no and why?
2. How will the mealworms do this?
You will now decide how you will present your findings. You
can complete a slide show or design a poster. If you come up
with another idea just let me know.
Congratulations
you have
completed all
the tasks!!