Using Flour Beetles (Tribolium confusum) in Population Growth Studies

 

Tested Studies in Laboratory Teaching, 2012, Volume 33

Sheryl Shanholtzer & Ann S. Lumsden

Abstract

The flour beetle, Tribolium confusum, is an excellent experimental subject that allows measurement of population growth patterns and growth potential in one semester. It is easy to culture and count, and has a high growth rate. It thrives in a scoop of dry flour, can be grown in fruit-fly vials, does not fly, and matures in 40 days at 28oC. A semester-long exercise in population growth for non-major's biology labs, determines the effect of food resources on population growth. A condensed lab for environmental science compares growth curves to the theoretical. Students learn how to both graph and analyze data.

Keywords:  experimental design, Tribolium, population growth, flour beetle

New Mexico State University (2011)