Meal Worm beetles questions

[biglepgec]

I have a couple of questions about mealworm beetles,
first: Will they harm the babies and pupae if not seperated,
second: can they fly, and if they do, do they fly out of their container often, it would be bad to have big black beetles flying around my house,
third does a mealworm container stink to badly that it can't be kept in a bedroom.
thanks in advance to any answers aight.:main_thumbsup:

 

[Bellalee]

1. Yes especially if they have no moisture.. I use these:

2. I use these:

http://www.target.com/Sterilite-Wid...Size=30&id=Sterilite Wide 3-Drawer Cart White

And seperate them. And it keeps a lid on them.. I doubt they would fly away if you gave them food and water.

3. No they dont smell especially in this.. it smell if you open them.

 

[acpart]

They generally do not fly, though I have occasionally seen one fly.

Aliza

 

[Friedbread]

They don't so much fly as climb up on something and jump off with their wings out. lol

 

[biglepgec]

thats good

 

[Kristi23]

I keep them separate in different plastic drawers.

I've never had one fly yet. I use bug stop, so they definitely can't climb out.

They can smell pretty bad if you don't change the bedding enough or if there are a lot of dead ones.

 

[ajveachster]

I started my first mealworm colony this year, and here are a couple things I noticed.
1. The beetles will eat the aliens, the little cannibals.
2. I kept the water source separate from the bedding by using a little dish, and I didn't have problems with smell. I also kept them in an old cricket keeper with the lid on so they had ventilation.
3. To start the colony I would remove the aliens from the worms, and they would be kept with the beetles.
4. Just last week all the beetles died, and when I cleaned them out I had baby mealies.
5. I have never seen any of the beetles fly.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[biglepgec]

yeah i just started a colony, i only have 200 mealies so ill wait for a month or two to see if any things happens.
for a water source i only throw in some carrots or potatoes, do they need anything else than their oatmeal bedding and potatoes, i also just noticed that i forgot to grind up the oatmeal so its going to be a hassle to pick out the little guys.

 

[pkrtech]

I keep all my Mealworm containers open the beetles never fly, However I lay Paper towels on top of the bedding and mist that once a week plus put in carrots once a week or until eaten.