Notes on the Biology of the Meal Worms, Tenebrio Molitor Linne and T. Obscurus Fab.

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Abstract
Owing to their usefulness as food for birds, reptiles, fish and small mammals, their desirability for anatomical and genetical research (for they are large in size and easily reared), and their destructiveness as pests of flour, meal, grain, etc., the meal worms have been well known for centuries. Many interesting accounts of the two species, Tenebrio molitor and T. obscurus, have been published, but aside from the brief observations of Riley in 1883 (6), Chittenden in 1895 (3) and 1896 (4), and Rau in 1915 (5), but little accurate information has been obtained on the biology of the meal worms in North America. Arendsen Hein, working in Europe on variations occurring in the different stages of the meal worms, made many observations on their life histories, and in 1920 (1) and 1923 (2) published valuable data on the biology of these two species. The writer has made observations on the life histories of the meal worms for the past three years and has gathered many data, some of which are presented in the following pages.

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