MEALWORMS

Jan. 14, 2021

Mealworms may soon find their way into Europe’s pasta bowls and dinner dishes, after becoming the first insect approved in the region as a human food.

About:

  • Mealworms are the larval form of the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle. Despite their name, mealworms are beetle larvae rather than worms.

  • Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult.

  • Larvae typically measure about 2.5 cm or more, whereas adults are generally between 1.25 and 1.8 cm in length.