Experiment+5+-+Colour+Preference

__**Colour Preferences** __ 

Do mealworms have a colour preference?

**//Hypothesis://** Mealworms prefer earth tone colours to bright vibrant colours.

**//Prediction://** We predicted that the mealworms would migrate and settle of the earth tone green. We based this prediction on our research that mealworms prefer to live under logs and rocks. Since green is the closest colour to what they would find under a rock or log, we though green would be a good prediction.

**//Materials://** Two pie plates, 8 coloured index cards (2 green, 2 yellow, 2 pink, 2 blue), 8 mealworms.

**//Procedure://** We placed four coloured index cards in a pie plate. There was one green, one yellow, one pink, and one blue. We then did this again with another pie plate, so we had two pie plates with the same colours on each. Then we taped the coloured index cards to the plate so that the mealworms would not crawl under the index cards. We placed four mealworms in each pie plate and let them go.

**//Controlled Variables://** Time (four minutes), start location (middle of pie plate), temperature (room temperature), location (pie plate on desk).

**//Responding Variables://** Final location of mealworm (colour).

**//Manipulated variable://** Pie plate with four different colours on it, and we had to push the mealworms back onto the pie plate.

**//Observations://** The mealworms moved around a lot and did not seem to be drifting towards a particular colour. A few of the mealworms were trying to crawl out of the pie plate so we lightly pushed the mealworms back onto the pie plate ensuring that they were in the same colour. After four minutes there were a total of three mealworms on the green colour, three mealworms on the yellow colour, two mealworms on the pink, and no mealworms on the blue.

**//Conclusion / Comments://** The mealworms do not appear to prefer a certain colour. Although the majority of the mealworms were found on green and yellow, this does not produce a concrete answer to our hypothesis. After doing some research if seems that there is no evidence to support our prediction. In general, mealworms do not have a colour preference.