Talk:Mealworm

Size
I was going to correct the size, then I saw it said -circumference- instead of length. That's about right, but I don't think the size of the adults is right. The one thing I remember about raising mealworms is that the adults are so bizarrely smaller than the larvae.. the mealworms are well over an inch long, while the adult darkling beetles are not even 3/4 of an inch..

Mealworms as pests
Since mealworms are a common pest, it would be helpful to have information (perhaps external links or links elsewhere in wikipedia) on how to prevent your flour from being infested by mealworms. The current page says that cooked mealworms are edible by humans, but it would also be useful to say whether there is any danger to eating uncooked flour (e.g., cookie dough) that may contain eggs or larvae -- e.g., might they carry (or be) gastrointestinal parasites?

It would also be interesting to know how granaries, millers, bakers and grocers deal with mealworms and similar pests on a larger scale.

I'm experimenting on how far a mealworm can go in just a minute. Do any of you know the answer?

Semi-protected edit request on 25 October 2023
67.50.94.68 (talk) 15:40, 25 October 2023 (UTC) Meal worms can pretty much eat anything such as egshells, octopus, and bannana peels.
 * . You are supposed to cite a reliable source for anything you propose to add. The article already says they can eat polystyrene, but a small section on diet might be useful. ~Anachronist (talk) 21:19, 25 October 2023 (UTC)

Edits
To the lead section, I included information regarding description and habitat preferences. I included a paragraph titled 'Description'. I removed sub-paragraph titled 'Sex pheromones'. I included sub-paragraph 'Mate Choice'. Grammatical edits were made as well.

L.marcoymarquez (talk) 23:36, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Feedback for Author
I'm a student leaving a comment for a fellow classmate: Well-written article! I fixed some wording errors and broke up larger paragraphs for reader clarity. Citations are needed for every paraphrased sentence/ sentence you use as a source. Moreover, there are a few sections that summarize papers almost like an essay, it may be better to synthesize the findings and describe the beetle more like a traditional encyclopedia format - but overall, it is very thorough and beautifully written! Bomapoodle (talk) 14:33, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

Modifications
To the lead section, I included more information that relates to the discussions that follow. I also included hyperlinks to other Wikipedia articles. Overall, I thought it was a well researched and well written article that addresses the behavior of the beetle quite nicely!

L.marcoymarquez (talk) 20:48, 7 April 2024 (UTC)

Edits
I edited the lead section of the article by removing some of the specific size measurement of the larvae and adult beetles and adding it to the “Description” section of the article. I also edited the first sentence of the “Life cycle” section to make it more concise and clear. I also specified that mealworms can be used as a food source for animals and humans in the lead section. Additionally, I added that the beetles are considered a pest, especially to food storage. These are interesting facts that might make a reader want to read more about the beetle. I think that in the section explaining the mealworms as a food source, maybe mention how the beetles got their name. 03:05, 12 April 2024 (UTC)Frenchfrylvr

Wiki Education assignment: Behavioral Ecology 2024
— Assignment last updated by Alexiathia (talk) 05:50, 9 April 2024 (UTC)

“Infected”
Hello, I came across this article and found the usage of the terminology “infected”/“noninfected” very confusing.

Whether this is commonplace nomenclature for entomological articles or not, perhaps this article could benefit from an explanation or a link to something that explains what it means?

I tried to google and have come up dry and feel it would be a valuable addition to the article. WillisHershey (talk) 03:56, 18 May 2024 (UTC)

duplicate word
in immune defense -> food restriction -> 2nd line: word "activity" is double 2A02:8108:8F80:7FB4:14AE:802C:4204:D8B2 (talk) 08:56, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

✅ Plantdrew (talk) 13:45, 5 June 2024 (UTC)

Proposal to remove irrelevant content
The first paragraph under "Mating" should be removed due to irrelevance. It is not pertinent to the section or overall article. Mallomarmeasle (talk) 16:42, 3 July 2024 (UTC)


 * On further reading the article, I see that the Talk topic above "Infected" refers to this same issue. Removal of the sentences that include reference to infection would fix this. Mallomarmeasle (talk) 16:47, 3 July 2024 (UTC)