The influence of a permanent magnetic field on the process of adult emergence in Tenebrio molitor

Abstract The duration of the last stage of preadult development (pupal stage) was observed in Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm beetle) under controlled conditions ( t = 19 °C, RH = 75%, 10 14 h light-dark regime, light intensity approx. 1000 Ix in the presence of a permanent magnetic field of 320 mT maximum induction, as an additional environmental factor, its intensity being approx. 10 000 times higher than the natural, terrestrial one. Several repeated experiments in the April–October period indicate that the process of adult emergence follows the same pattern in control groups of pupae as in the groups exposed to the magnetic field, but the dynamics of metamorphosis are significantly different. Pupal metamorphosis into adults was more rapid in the presence of a magnetic field. An average reduction of the process of adult emergence (eclosion time) was about 14%.