Pupae Experiments

Questions I hope to answer:

• Does the refrigerator affect viability
• Does placing in bedding affect viability
• Does increasing humidity affect viability
• Does increasing temperature affect viability
• Does shaking about and sifting around affect viability
• Does a weight on top affect viability (piles of pupae)

Experiment #1 - Does a wet paper towel help?

Started 12/22/2020 Status: In Progress

I have about 30-35% humidity in my house, temperature ranging from 63 (some nights) - 77 (some days) degrees F.

I have three plastic trays. I pulled 144 pupae from the mealworm bin, all assumed to have pupated in the last two days since the last time I pulled pupae out of the bin was two days before. I split the pupae into three bins of 48 pupae each.

• Container 1 is the control group, left to open air
• Container 2 is covered with a dry paper towel
• Container 3 is covered with a wet paper towel and a plastic lid, ajar to keep moisture high (lid required because a wet paper towel dries in less than an hour in my house)

In progress results

Inconclusive. I’ve performed this twice so far and although the individual experiments had results, the data together (averaged or summed) shows almost no difference between the different methods of keeping pupae. I need to repeat this a few more times, but so far the results are saying - no, increasing the humidity from 30-35% (what my house is normally at) doesn’t seem to matter.

Experiment #2 - Can you refrigerate pupae?

Started 12/31/2020 Status: In Progress

I want to see if keeping pupae in the fridge will kill them. I’ve got a harvest of pupae all pupated with the last two or three days. Three containers of 23 pupae each.

• Container 1, control. Left room temperature.
• Containers 2,3, go in fridge

Each container has been covered and the cover includes air holes. Container #2 will come out of the fridge after 1 week, container #3 after 2 weeks, assuming all aren’t black by then.