Superworm Project

[RoninSTi]

Hey everyone,

12/24/2009

I'm starting to breed my own supers and mealies and I'm going to log all of the progress in a thread. There are a bunch of great "how-tos" on this forum and on youtube, but I think a detailed journal of the process start to finish will be helpful.

So I'm starting with about 30 supers to see how the initial run goes. I went to walmart and purchased jewelry bead organizers for 2 bucks each. I drilled a 3/16 hole in the top of each compartment, then placed a super in each bin. This will stress them and force them to pupate.

I have about 20 more Supers in a 3 tier bin. I'm going to keep them and feed them off. I'm using unpeeled carrots for a moisture source and old fashioned oats as substrate. I have some "worm mash" on order but the oats will do for now.

As soon as I have updates, I'll update this thread.:main_thumbsup:

 

[RoninSTi]

12/25/2009

Checked on the worms and no deaths yet, which is a plus! One of the worms started to curl and begin the pupating process. He was the one without ANY food and he's the first to start. The other bins had some oat flakes just as a casualty of moving the worms from their substrate, and you can tell they are munching away at whatever is in there. For the next batch I'm going to make sure there is NO food. Seems like it just prolongs the process. Once more of them start curling I will post pics. They will be out of food shortly.

 

[ameh78]

good luck =]

I started breeding my mealies a few months ago. its a long long process before they get big enough to feed.. mine are just *starting* to get big enough - but still rather small. i started with maybe 200? and now have thousands.

I just started my superworms - have two pupi. Cant wait to get those going =D

 

[GrimmyX15]

Good luck! i tried to have them on pupaes nothing luck! i only had them for two month, they still havent pupaes so i gave up and fed it to my turtle and fishes.(they are cut up)

 

[RoninSTi]

12/27/2009

Ok so this morning a couple more worms started to curl!! I'm leaving for 2 days, hopefully being undisturbed for so long will get the rest to start. I've noticed that if you disturb them, they will uncurl so it's best to forget about these guys for a few days.

 

[RoninSTi]

12/29/2009

Just got back from a mini vaca to VT and 2 things have happened. Some more worms have curled, and some have died. It seems that the thinner worms have died and the fat ones are starting to curl. I don't think I'll have too many more updates in the near future until they pupate. Should be about 2 weeks out.

 

[LizMarie]

Good Luck. I don't have problems with supers curling and pupating it's the beetles I have issues with, they always die after the a month.

 

[RoninSTi]

Good Luck. I don't have problems with supers curling and pupating it's the beetles I have issues with, they always die after the a month.

Isnt the life span of the beetles 5 weeks?

 

[LizMarie]

Isnt the life span of the beetles 5 weeks?

Is it? I have no idea, lol they just seem really short lived. I thought it was like 2 months and a little more like mealies because my mealie beetles seemed to last forever!

 

[Magic Merlin]

Superworm beetles have a 5 month lifespan......the worms will last well over a year in a colony if given food and moisture......I breed supers, 3 forms of mealworms, soldier grubs (aka: phoenix worms), dubia, lobster, and laterius roaches.......boy, all that food for a couple of geckos LOL LOL

 

[Magic Merlin]

The first step is admitting I have a problem!

 

[RoninSTi]

Superworm beetles have a 5 month lifespan......the worms will last well over a year in a colony if given food and moisture......I breed supers, 3 forms of mealworms, soldier grubs (aka: phoenix worms), dubia, lobster, and laterius roaches.......boy, all that food for a couple of geckos LOL LOL

I knew it was something with a 5!!

 

[gitrdone0420]

This journal will be helpful. Seems that supers are just way too hard to mess with, at least for me. So I dont even bother!

 

[RoninSTi]

1/3/2010

So after doing some research, I moved my worms into a computer cabinet, which was about 78F. It seems that having the right temps speeds up the process.

Out of the 30 or so that I tried to pupate, I've had 2 begin to curl, 10 die, and the rest are still squirming around being their fat selves. Anyone have any ideas why the death ratio was so high? Maybe they were at the end of their larva lifespan?

Anyways I have had 2 mealworms already pupate and I have 2 aliens!! I'm really excited about this, hopefully some more pupate in the near future.

 

[combadao]

Altough I don't have much experience with super, the death ratio usually correlates with the feeding regime and general husbandry and with the "genetic quality" of the breeding stock.

 

[RoninSTi]

Altough I don't have much experience with super, the death ratio usually correlates with the feeding regime and general husbandry and with the "genetic quality" of the breeding stock.

Thanks,

I rest of the colony is holding up well, and I did let them get nice and fat before separating them for pupation. This is probably going to take a couple attempts. :main_yes:

 

[combadao]

Just so that you have an idea... Some experiences were made, by researchers, with Tenebrio molitor (mealworm). Of all the eggs laid by the bugs just an average of 10% hatched! Probably inbreeding is very strong in our feeders and the "genetic quality" is low. They only survive and prosper because they lay so much eggs!

Of course, after optimizing the procedure, you can usually have better results.

 

[SFgeckos]

Just from looking at the superworm larvae in those containers, I can say from experience that some of them are not at maximum size- meaning that they still have several weeks to grow before they are large/mature enough to reach the "pupae" stage. I would recommend selecting the largest larvae to isolate and you should find that there is a higher percentage of them morphing into pupae.

 

[RoninSTi]

Just from looking at the superworm larvae in those containers, I can say from experience that some of them are not at maximum size- meaning that they still have several weeks to grow before they are large/mature enough to reach the "pupae" stage. I would recommend selecting the largest larvae to isolate and you should find that there is a higher percentage of them morphing into pupae.

I went and took out any that weren't all that big, and then dug around in my bin for any giants I missed. Couldn't find any so I'm going to wait a couple weeks and see if any of these guys grow. I have a few more curling so this is exciting!

 

[RoninSTi]

First Pupa!!!!

1/7/2009

SUPER excited. I checked the bins when I got home tonight, and almost fell out of my chair when I saw the pupa. Alot bigger and scarier looking then I was expecting:main_laugh:.

Some more are curling up. Hopefully by the end of January I have my first Beetles.