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How to Know If Mealworms Are Female or Male

The mealworms commonly fed to reptiles and other insect-eating pets is a member of the darkling beetle family and scientifically known as Tenebrio molitor. The adults are commonly known as mealworm beetles. These insects go through three life stages before becoming a sexually mature adult: the egg stage, larval stage and pupa stage. The actual mealworm is in the larval stage and not yet sexually mature. These insects spend several weeks as mealworms. You'll have to have patience when sexing your mealworms as you must wait for the pupa or cocoon stage.

Things You'll Need

Magnifying glass

Instructions

- 1
  Turn the pupa over to get a good view of the underside. Gently hold the mealworm between your forefinger and thumb to keep it from rolling back over, which it may do if it is close to hatching out of the chrysalis.
- 2
  Hold a magnifying glass over the tail end of the pupa. The tail end is the thinner portion of the pupa.
- 3
  Look for two small bumps on the underside of the tail. Females will develop two small papillae in the pupa stage. Males will not have these bumps. These bumps are retained into adulthood so if you are trying to sex the adult, the process is the same.

Animals & Science