Neon Aurora
New Member
- Messages
- 1,376
- Location
- New Mexico
My colony of mealworms has grown quite large and the worms are quite large themselves. I haven't kept track of how many weeks old the batch in question is, but it feels like it's been a really long time (months) and barely any of them have pupated and I'm starting to find some dead worms. My older beetles are starting to die off now and I have barely any pupae to replace them. Why could this be happening? They live in a base of wheat bran and are provided with fresh fruits or veggies maybe once every other day (no exact schedule). Lately their staple has been cooked yams but they also get potatoes, apples, carrots, or whatever else I happen to have. For a while they were getting fermented wheat bran as well but I have fallen behind in that (want to start up again soon). They are very large and very healthy worms. Does anyone know why they aren't pupating?
I have noticed the pupae and beetles from this batch are almost twice the size of my previous batch. I'm assuming this is just because I figured out how to keep them healthy and make them grow better and isn't harmful, but I thought I would mention it.
Secondly, about half (maybe more) of the ones that do pupate (I maybe find 2 every week if I'm lucky) are dying a few days after. I find the pupae and remove them into a bin I have set aside for pupae, and I find them dead a few days later. This is the same bin in the same place I was using before and I never had so many pupae die.
Any input is appreciated. My colony was doing so well, I had more worms than I ever needed but now I'm getting worried.
I have noticed the pupae and beetles from this batch are almost twice the size of my previous batch. I'm assuming this is just because I figured out how to keep them healthy and make them grow better and isn't harmful, but I thought I would mention it.
Secondly, about half (maybe more) of the ones that do pupate (I maybe find 2 every week if I'm lucky) are dying a few days after. I find the pupae and remove them into a bin I have set aside for pupae, and I find them dead a few days later. This is the same bin in the same place I was using before and I never had so many pupae die.
Any input is appreciated. My colony was doing so well, I had more worms than I ever needed but now I'm getting worried.