Mealworm Beetle stage

[chaoticstone]

Hi,
I was thinking about starting a colony of meal-worms. My wife can't stand the noise of crickets so thought I should ask, if when in beetle form they make noise? Also can you feed strictly worms and do crickets as treats or should there primary food be crickets? We are in the process of trying to buy a house and was hoping we would have it done by now but it's more drawn out and were going to the show next weekend and was planning on picking my first gecko up then. Everything is being thrown out of whack with the house not being closed on yet, so all my feeders could be moved to the garage. (she doesn't like the mice and rats in the house either) Depending on the answers I get I will either pick one up or wait for another show

Thanks for any info,
Brendyn

 

[Pepper]

Beetles don't make noise, they can fly, but if kept with food and substrate in the dark usually don't.

A tub system works best, I'll post a picture, it's really easy to breed, I just started like a few weeks ago and already have 10-15 beetles.

You can feed strictly worms, or worms and a few crickets, whichever you prefer.

It can take a while for a colony to get started, probably about a month to go from worm to pupae to larvae, then eggs, then they hatch a few weeks later but it can take about 4-6 months for them to reach 1/2 inch but then they grow pretty quickly.

Just buy like 1,000 or order large normal mealworms from a company and you will have pupae and beetles faster.

Warm temps no higher then 80 also speed things up.

Here's my set up, just small tubs, I'm only feeding like 4 animals.

Worms in the top in oats, feed carrots, lettuce, yams, potatoes for moisture.

Second drawer is pupae on a sheet of paper towel.

Third is beetles on oats, eat the same stuff as worms for moisture.

I have a blanket/quilt covering the box so it keeps in some heat and keeps it dark because the beetles don't like light.

 

[chaoticstone]

Beetles don't make noise, they can fly, but if kept with food and substrate in the dark usually don't.

A tub system works best, I'll post a picture, it's really easy to breed, I just started like a few weeks ago and already have 10-15 beetles.

You can feed strictly worms, or worms and a few crickets, whichever you prefer.

It can take a while for a colony to get started, probably about a month to go from worm to pupae to larvae, then eggs, then they hatch a few weeks later but it can take about 4-6 months for them to reach 1/2 inch but then they grow pretty quickly.

Just buy like 1,000 or order large normal mealworms from a company and you will have pupae and beetles faster.

Warm temps no higher then 80 also speed things up.

Here's my set up, just small tubs, I'm only feeding like 4 animals.

Worms in the top in oats, feed carrots, lettuce, yams, potatoes for moisture.

Second drawer is pupae on a sheet of paper towel.

Third is beetles on oats, eat the same stuff as worms for moisture.

I have a blanket/quilt covering the box so it keeps in some heat and keeps it dark because the beetles don't like light.

Oh so I can start with actually meal worms? The site I original found said to order a culture, was thinking that would have just been eggs. Do you need to put a slice of potato in with the pupae? Also do you think 12qt sterlite tubs would be the right size? Thought I could use a few slots of my hatchling snake rack. If I used the tubs with lid would I need to put a few small holes in for air circulation? Thank you for the information.
Brendyn

 

[Pepper]

If the tubs don't have a crack like mine do then you would probably have to drill a few holes.

Yeah you can just start with worms, the cycle goes..beetle-egg-larvae(worm)-pupae-beetle.

So the worms would turn into pupae which would turn into beetles, the beetles would lay eggs, and then you would get meal worms and the process starts all over again.

The pupae don't need food, they are just white grub things that lay there until they turn into beetles, then they need food.
They start out white, then gradually become a brownish/gold color, before they turn into beetles the legs and eyes start to become defined and within a few hours they usually hatch into beetles.

The beetles are white at first, then turn brown, then black in a few days, and then are ready to lay eggs in about 5 days.

12 qt would probably be fine, mine are pretty small. As long as you don't think there is any over crowding.

 

[chaoticstone]

If the tubs don't have a crack like mine do then you would probably have to drill a few holes.

Yeah you can just start with worms, the cycle goes..beetle-egg-larvae(worm)-pupae-beetle.

So the worms would turn into pupae which would turn into beetles, the beetles would lay eggs, and then you would get meal worms and the process starts all over again.

The pupae don't need food, they are just white grub things that lay there until they turn into beetles, then they need food.
They start out white, then gradually become a brownish/gold color, before they turn into beetles the legs and eyes start to become defined and within a few hours they usually hatch into beetles.

The beetles are white at first, then turn brown, then black in a few days, and then are ready to lay eggs in about 5 days.

12 qt would probably be fine, mine are pretty small. As long as you don't think there is any over crowding.

So you check your worm tub every so often for a pupae (Is this kind of like a cocoon?) then move them to the pupae tub or do you wait for all the worms to turn? If not how hard is it to see them in the oats? Sorry for the stupid questions I like to get all the information upfront before I venture into a project.

 

[Pepper]

I check the tub with the worms once or twice a day, or whenever I walk by it and feel like checking. The worms come to the top to turn into pupae so whenever I see them I just stick them in the 2nd drawer. Yes you could call it a cacoon.

When I see a beetle in the 2nd drawer I put it in the third.

 

[cwazy]

heres what you should be looking for... pic borrowed from www.nyworms.com

dont let flying beetles sway you... though it is said that they can and do fly, i have tossed mine around, dug, flicked off my finger, dropped on table ect... and they have yet to fly... so the likely hood of them flying IN MY OPINION is slim to none... :main_rolleyes:

breeding is pretty effortless but is time consuming, you start off with mealies... i would recomend buying a bulk # and puttin half away and waiting for them to pupate... the pupae in general come to the top... sometimes ill see a lil tail sticking out, but for the most part they come to the top! seperate your pupaes from your mealies, the pupae need nothing other than time... in time find the beetles in the pupae and pull the beetles out and put them in fresh substrait... give your beetles about 4 weeks and them remove your beetles and put them in new substrait... KEEP YOUR OLD, toss a small amount of carrots in the old stuff *where you just took the beetles out of* and wait... dont be discoraged if you dont see anything happening in the old stuff... i can almost garentee that they are there... soon enough you will see hundreds or even thousands *depending on how many beetles you had* and then its a matter of waitin for them to grow... be aware that the baby mealies are TINY... very very very small... you need a good eye to see them at first! :main_robin:

the most noise ive ever herd our beetles make is crunching around on the bran flakes :main_laugh:


so with all that said.. just do a lil reading around on this part of the boards, and you will find most anything you need to know... there are a ton of topics on this

 

[chaoticstone]

Thank you both for your replies. I can just add it to my end of the night rounds with all the other animals and it should run smoothly. I know there is going to be a feeder supplier at the show were heading to so I'll pick up a large quanity there to start with.

 

[herpencounter]

dont let flying beetles sway you... though it is said that they can and do fly, i have tossed mine around, dug, flicked off my finger, dropped on table ect... and they have yet to fly... so the likely hood of them flying IN MY OPINION is slim to none... :main_rolleyes:

I did not even know they could fly lol!

 

[cwazy]

incase your show guy has high prices i go to www.nyworms.com its 18 bucks shipped for 1000 large mealies... i have yet to have an issue

 

[nats]

They are very simple to breed.
To many folks make to big a fuss over it, including myself.

Really, all you have to do is leave them alone and just make
sure they have food and dont dry out.
Eventually, you will have baby mealies whether you want them
or not
Of course, you will also have a disorganized mess of larva, pupa
beetles and shed exo everywhere!

 

[laurlaur12]

the beetles can fly? i have never seen mine fly...

 

[cwazy]

^ its been said that they can... but out of our 800+ beetles ive yet to see one fly *shrug*

 

[moosassah]

I've yet to see a beetle fly in 2 years of having a colony. On rare occassion I have found a wanderer, so I suppose maybe some have. I keep the pupae in with the beetles. Like you will, I have a small colony. 1 butter bucket for beetles & pupae, another for the mealworms. I do sift out the larger ones on occassion (monthly?) & keep them in an open tupperware container to make feeding time easier.

 

[Pepper]

Yeah I've never seen one fly either, just saying they can haha.

I separate mine into 3 bins because the beetles have been known to eat the pupae, and it's just cleaner and easier for me haha.

 

[nats]

I've never seen one fly either :main_huh:
Maybe they only fly if they really have too, no place to lay eggs,
or extreme temp conditions!?
Even the ones that escape, or I find in the terarriums, do not try
to fly to a better location.
The little buggers do have wings, seems like they would take advantage
of them sometimes!!