Will mealworms solve the garbage problem? Mealworm Web Quest Will mealworms solve the garbage problem?

Student Overview It is the year 2010 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 you complete the web quest there are vocabulary words you’ll come across that you may not know. Open your journal to your vocabulary page and copy down each word and its definition. You can refer back to this page when you don’t understand something or write down any new words that you had to look up. Metamorphosis-process of changing in the life cycle of most insects. Mealworm-larva of the Tenebrio beetle Molting-shedding of old skin and growing new skin. Pupa-third stage of metamorphosis Tenebrio Beetle-final stage of the meal worm Larva-second stage of metamorphosis Egg-first stage of metamorphosis Habitat-place where a person or thing is most likely to be found.

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://www.drgecko.com/mealworms/housing.htm http://www.drgecko.com/mealworms/feeding.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/beetles/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: Date Time Color Size Write at least three sentences describing what you see your mealworm doing or how it has changed. Be descriptive 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: Do you believe the mealworm can solve the garbage problem? Yes or no and why? 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!!