What is the Effect of Different Light Cycles on the Circadian Rhythms of the Tenebrio molitor’s Larval Stage?
Tenebrio molitor Life Cycle:
The Tenebrio molitor is a holometabolous insect which means it will go through metamorphosis. Metamorphosis is the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages . In this case, the organism will experience four life stages consisting of the egg stage, larval stage, pupa stage and the imago or adult stage . The female darkling beetle lays hundreds of eggs which, after approximately after 1-4 weeks, hatch into the second life stage, the larval stage . The organism will then spend 8-10 weeks as a brown larva before it enters the pupa stage. Throughout the larval stage, the Tenebrio molitor will grow to become roughly 25mm long and exist as a solid exoskeleton. The organism will also need to molt in order to grow. Molting is when the organism sheds its outer…show more content… Firstly, the temperature of the four environments was calculated prior to the experiment, but only a few times during. The temperature at which this experiment was conducted was 21°C. Since each set of organisms was placed under a cardboard box, the heat from the lamps may have slightly altered the temperature inside the environment. Since the light cycles were different, for example the 12-hour light cycles may have heated the inside of the box slightly more that the 2-hour light cycles due to the fact that the lamps were left on for longer periods of time. This defect could have been avoided by checking the temperature more often to be sure whether or not the different light cycles affected the overall temperature of each environment. If the temperature were to be altered, a simple ventilation system such as poking holes in the top of the cardboard box to let the heat escape would have to be set up in order to keep the environment at a constant