Elemental contents in flour bettles (Tenebrio molitor L.) during the life cycle
Abstract
The aim of my study was to investigate the macro- and microelemental contents in three larvae stages, pupae, first and second generation adult stages during the life cycle of flour beetles. The individuals of the laboratory culture were fed with mashed potato during their life cycle. From each stage 10 individuals were selected randomly to the elemental analysis; ICP-OES method was used during the analysis. The following elements were measured: Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, S, Sr and Zn. Based on the canonical discriminant analysis of elemental content of flour beetle individuals the stages were separated from each other. In cases of the first, second and third larvae stages, high overlaps were found. The ANOVA showed significant differences between elemental content of the stages during the life cycle of flour beetles. The results of my study show that in the stages of flour beetle, there were significant changes in the micro- and macroelemental contents. My findings suggest that flour beetles stages are useful to assess the effects of environmental contamination.
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