Author(s): Ribeiro, Nuno Tiago Garrucho Martins
Date: 2017
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/18083
Origin: Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra
Subject(s): Inseto; Pesticida
Author(s): Ribeiro, Nuno Tiago Garrucho Martins
Date: 2017
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/18083
Origin: Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra
Subject(s): Inseto; Pesticida
Abstract Tenebrio molitor is one of the most reared species of insect at industrial scale. The entire life cycle of mealworms takes place in the same ecosystem and the duration of the different stages is highly dependent on environmental and physical conditions such as temperature, relative humidity, diet and population density. Most of the environment conditions as well as diet have already been studied and are documented. Tenebrio molitor is deeply adaptable to extreme dry conditions, obtaining water from both food ingestion (even substances with low water content) and/or atmosphere, however larvae grows faster in moist conditions upper than 70%. At the industrial scale, water can be provided as pure water, through wet paper, fresh vegetables with high water content or even polymers capable of absorbing water (polyacrylamide). Chapter 1 is a review of the optimal conditions for Tenebrio molitor rearing. In Chapter 2, the effects of relative humidity and the effects of ingesting fresh vegetables contaminated with pesticides and polyacrylamide are evaluated. Relative humidity affected the development of mealworm larvae, with higher pupation and body mass attained at 65% and with faster growth rates attained at 40%. No effects of pesticides were detected. However, the chemical analysis of body mass will allow knowing if there was bioaccumulation.).