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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Series Cucujiformia » Tenebrionoidea » Darkling Beetles (Tenebrionidae) » Tenebrioninae » Tenebrionini » Mealworm beetles (Tenebrio) » Yellow Mealworm (Tenebrio molitor)

Species Tenebrio molitor - Yellow Mealworm

Classification · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Food · Remarks · Internet References · Works Cited

large brown tenebrionid - Tenebrio molitor

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)

Superfamily Tenebrionoidea

Family Tenebrionidae (Darkling Beetles)

Subfamily Tenebrioninae

Tribe Tenebrionini

Genus Tenebrio (Mealworm beetles)

Species molitor (Yellow Mealworm)

Explanation of Names

Tenebrio molitor Linnaeus 1758

molitor (L). 'miller'; the common name refers to larval colouration

Size

13-16 mm (1)

Identification

Dorsum with slight luster

Range

temperate regions worldwide (mostly northern), incapable of breeding in the tropics(2); introduced to NA ca. 1827(3)

Food

materials of animal and vegetable origin(2): refuse grain, coarse cereal, mill products, meat scraps, dead insects, and feathers(4)

Remarks

storage pest, particularly of moist grain (1)

Larvae sold live in pet stores as reptile/amphibian food (1)

Larvae are recyclers of not only organic debris produced by domestic animals, they can also recycle plastic waste.(5)

Internet References

Darkling Beetles of FL & E. US (1)

Biodegradation of Different Types of Plastics by Tenebrio molitor

Works Cited

1.	The Darkling Beetles of Florida and Eastern United States (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Dunford et al. 2005. University of Florida Entomology and Nematology Dept., Gainesville.

2.	Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.

3.	The Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada Majka C.G., Bouchard P., Bousquet Y. 2008. Can. Entomol. 140: 690‒713.

4.	Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.

5.	The Lives of Beetles: A Natural History of Coleoptera Arthur V. Evans. 2023. Princeton University Press.

Contributed by Boris Büche on 2 April, 2007 - 6:25am
Additional contributions by Bbarnd, Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn, v belov, metrioptera, Marci Hess
Last updated 7 March, 2024 - 11:54pm

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