My First Pupa!

[serialzombie]

I've started a very miniature mealworm (Tenibrio Molitor) colony, using 100 mealworms and 25 beetles. It's in a tiny little sweater box on top of my T.V., for warmth.

Today I got my first pupa!

I took it and put it in one of those little containers you buy superworms and waxworms in, and set it on top of my T.V. too. We'll see how long it takes to finish pupating.

 

[mainelygeckos]

grats!

 

[stellascura420]

If one has already pupated, I'm sure a lot more will soon. It takes about a week for my pupa to become beetles. Good luck

 

[serialzombie]

If one has already pupated, I'm sure a lot more will soon. It takes about a week for my pupa to become beetles. Good luck

Awesome, good to know. We'll see how mine compares. At approximately what temperature does it take yours a week?


I've been trying to do the math, to see how many beetles I need to keep to breed about as many mealworms as I need to feed.

It really should only be a handful, right? Assuming a female lays 500 eggs over five months....even with a 50% mortality rate, that would be 17 mealworms produced per day.

Are most people here who breed their own mealworms generally overrun by them?

 

[serialzombie]

I saw my first second generation larvae today. Tons of them underneath a carrot I was replacing.

 

[serialzombie]

Awesome, good to know. We'll see how mine compares. At approximately what temperature does it take yours a week?


I've been trying to do the math, to see how many beetles I need to keep to breed about as many mealworms as I need to feed.

It really should only be a handful, right? Assuming a female lays 500 eggs over five months....even with a 50% mortality rate, that would be 17 mealworms produced per day.

Are most people here who breed their own mealworms generally overrun by them?

Don't use your touch screen phone as your calculator. Sometimes you can accidentally add an extra zero into an equation, and get grossly innacurate estimates as a result.

 

[robinson]

hey i was just wondering how long did u have ur mealworms before u found that pupa?

Also shoul i be digging into my wheat bran to look for pupa or wil they come to the surface to pupate?

 

[OneFootedAce]

hey i was just wondering how long did u have ur mealworms before u found that pupa?

Also shoul i be digging into my wheat bran to look for pupa or wil they come to the surface to pupate?

they surface no need to search it didnt take very long for all my 400 or so mealies turned into pupae within a month or so. But it all depends on what stage your mealies are at.

 

[robinson]

i have 100 large and 100 medium mealies, the large ones are all between 1-1/4" and 1.5" and i have had them for just over a week now so i hope to be seeing some pupa relatively soon...