Biology 1114 Beetle Project

Biology 1114 Research Project Experimental Set-up and Overview

General: Flour beetles (Tribolium confusum), also known as the confused beetle, will be raised in plastic containers for approximately seven to eight weeks. The amounts of food and space will be varied in each of these containers which may impact the densities of the beetle. Space is provided for the beetles by the addition of vermiculite to two of the three containers. The addition of this material will allow the beetles to move away from one another. The populations in each container will be evaluated at the end of this study by counting numbers of live adults, pupae, and larvae. Two different hypotheses will be tested, each of which will be based on amount of food and space in the containers. At the conclusion of this experiments, you will present the results in written report.

Experimental Procedures

Three rearing containers will be set up in the following manner:

Container A [Control]: 25 adult beetles, 25 grams of food, enough vermiculite to fill the container to the top (control group)

Container B [Experiment 1]: 25 adult beetles, 25 grams of food, no vermiculite (high density of beetles)

Container C [Experiment 2]: 25 adult beetles, 10 grams of food, enough vermiculite to fill the container half full. (low density of beetles)

1. Groups of students will be assigned a container to prepare. The outside of each container will need to be labeled with a letter (A, B, or C) as well as the date that the experiment was started. Plastic weigh boats will be used to weigh out the food that will be added to each container. Make sure to zero scales after placing weigh boats on them. Put the appropriate amount of food in each container. After the food has been added, you will need to sort through the material in the beetle cultures in order to locate live adults for your experiments. The next step is for you to deposit 25 healthy adult beetles in each of the plastic rearing containers. The experimental design requires the addition of different amounts of vermiculite to container A and C. Add the vermiculite to the appropriate level in these two containers.

2. The containers will need to be sealed tightly so that the beetles do not escape. Cut a piece of cheese cloth large enough so that when it is folded in half horizontally and vertically will still amply cover the top of the container. Place a paper towel over the cheese cloth. Use several elastic bands to secure the cheese cloth/paper towel covering. Once this is done, the containers will need to be placed in an incubator for the duration of the experiment.