Mealworm Behavior

[brothaT]

I recently bought 1000 mealies from LLL and put them in a 12"x12" drawer filled with wheat bran. After a few hours I checked and almost all of them had congregated to the 4 corners of the drawer with very few in the middle. Is that what they normally do, or is it my substrate or temps causing this?

 

[theclean1]

id say its normal but get some food in there like apples or potatos or fruits because usally they go under it and eat it...

 

[Pepper]

Mine go to the corners too...

So do my beetles...

 

[Crasher_Insane]

Maybe you could try splitting the colony in half and giving them more space. I've got about half as many as you do and they behave the same. I just now realized it might be from overcrowding.

 

[Pepper]

I only have about 20 left out of 1,000 and they still go into the corners and are in a HUGE bin haha.

 

[Crasher_Insane]

lol Pepper. I think it's just because walls don't exist naturally in nature that any critter is bound to go straight to their boundaries.

 

[brothaT]

Thanks for the input guys. Maybe I'll just put them in a circular container for purely spiteful reasons. :main_evilgrin:

 

[Pepper]

lmao!!!!!!!!

 

[cwazy]

LOL!!! seriously i wonder what the outcome would be... would they all stick to the edges or would they just be completly lost lol...

 

[HepCatMoe]

most likely they are just trying to find a good hiding spot. wedged into a crack, is better than out in the open.

 

[bitterbeauty]

I have always wondered this! They all go to the corners and pile up on top of each other (makes it easy when you are grabbing some for feeding but whyyy?)

Maybe it has something to do with them feeling safer? because when you are out in the open in the middle of the tub you might feel more vunerable? idk.

 

[brothaT]

Well well well, I think it's experiment time. I'll get back to you with some of my incredibly ingenious and scientific results. :main_rolleyes:

 

[Pepper]

I think it does have to do with vulnerability, because when ever I open the tub, the ones in the center eating run, err...crawl quickly to the corners haha.