#mealworm

🌺 I am safe, it’s only change 🌺

This post is about mealworms! Everyone loves mealworms. That's not true. But mealworms ARE an insect that many people have close experience with, as they are very easy to take care of, and this makes them a popular choice of food for pets like chickens or lizards!

This also means that poor little mealworm has become a victim of consumerism, and certain companies are intent on marketing the little larva to as many people as possible. And to do so, they may try to make mascots! Insect character designs, designed to have broad appeal by people who want to make money... are they any good? No, not usually. Let's look at them!

We start with Chubby Mealworms, the mascot design I've seen the most often, and the one that has merchandise. I often lament that the only mealworm plushes in the world look like this thing! This certainly does communicate "worm", but the wrong kind of worm! This is 100% natural, and 100% EARTHworm-shaped. And then it has a face on its side, and big ol' human hands sticking out. Like, a fifth of this entire character design is human hands!

It does look kind of appetizing, I suppose? Kind of like a dollop of something squeezed out of a tube, like melted cheese. I think I'd rather eat this worm than look at it.

Next is the mascot of Rainbow Mealworms. And jeepers! I sure dislike this! I very much disagree with its thumbs-up. The body is certainly wormy, and the color spot-on! But then we get to the arms... the once again very human arms! There certainly seem to be bones in those. They could even be YOUR bones! One segment up, we get a... neck, supporting the main event: the head. A head that would looks like it belongs on a cartoon turtle. And I wouldn't even like that cartoon turtle! I would not even feed this to a chicken, out of respect to the chicken. This is a mealworm that Moorhuhn would enjoy.

But speaking of chickens, let's finally get to a good mealworm! Sweet Pea's Mealworms knows that less is more sometimes. A worm with big ol' eyes is just cute! That's all there is to it! I especially like that this mealworm has a worried look. It's realistic! This isn't one of those traitorous mascots that sells its own kind as food. Instead, the chicken is the main mascot, and I think she is quite enjoying the role. Until she gets tired of mealworms and starts craving soldier fly larvae instead...?

Next we have West Georgia Mealworms! And... I kind of like them? They have cartoon frog faces, I suppose, but unlike the Rainbow Mealworm situation, I would actually like a cartoon frog with this face. These look more like maggots than mealworms, but overall, they express a sort of joy and innocence. I don't want to feed these to anything, I would rather nurture them! They have no idea of the fate that awaits them... poor things! The first mascots on this list which I pity.

Mein gott! Einen Homer Larva! The floating timeline of The Simpsons means that Homer will one day look like this in a flashback episode. Look forward to it!

AAAAAAAAAH! This is the scariest one yet! Cheeky in a bad way, and that expression is just sinister. This worm has indeed consumed many of its own kind, using the utensils it holds in its floaty hands. It is aware of what it has done, and hopes to do so more in the future. The more it cannibalizes, the more its smile grows. There's no way around it. This mealworm must be killed.

But THIS one, by Party Bugs, is COOL! Simplified and stylized, in a pleasing way! Sometimes less is more. But maybe we should convince mealworm mascot designers in particular that less is ALWAYS more. I think we would be safer that way. This is also the only one on this list to be a mascot for mealworms as a human snack! That probably has a lot to do with the stylization, but I appreciate that it keeps the core design traits of a mealworm anyway.

@thrones-of-buer submitted: Noms

(sorry I don't know the exact species but apparently it's a European praying mantis, NY if that helps)