# deformed darkling beetles??



## guitarlust (Feb 16, 2007)

what could cause the deformation of a darkling beetle?? i have had it occur before too. the mealworm appears healthy and normal, same goes for the pupa and then BAM!! out comes the deformed darkling beetle. this time around the beetle does not have a shell covering the body. why would this happen?? i keep it humid and warm during the pupa period. normally this does not occur, but it irritates me and was wondering the cause.


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## fantasticp (Feb 16, 2007)

guitarlust said:


> what could cause the deformation of a darkling beetle?? i have had it occur before too. the mealworm appears healthy and normal, same goes for the pupa and then BAM!! out comes the deformed darkling beetle. this time around the beetle does not have a shell covering the body. why would this happen?? i keep it humid and warm during the pupa period. normally this does not occur, but it irritates me and was wondering the cause.


I think it just happens sometimes. Once I got a half beetle, half pupa mutate walking around. Mutants get fed off before they can harden in my house. More commonly is half of the back plate missing or something.


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## arachnocat (Feb 16, 2007)

Most of mine seem to come out deformed too. I'm not trying to breed them though I've just had a few develop into beetles lately because my turtle is still hibernating. I rarely find normal beetles. Maybe it's due to so much inbreeding or something. Causes wierd mutations.

Reactions: Like 1


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## bugmankeith (Feb 16, 2007)

Only once have I had darkling beetle with curved wings. I also had one healthy but, very small beetle, I guess it was a dwarf.


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## guitarlust (Feb 16, 2007)

coolenss, at least it aint the way i am caring for them. i had the dwarf beetle syndrome happen once; it ended up being a male too. majority of the larvae get fed to the bluebirds that are in the backyard.


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## Mr. Mordax (Feb 17, 2007)

I get lots of freak-beetles.  Maybe I should start separating them so I don't start getting freak-larvae.  Thing is, most critters prefer the larvae (at least, I think most inverts do), so I can't always feed off the freaks.

On a side-note, it's kinda weird that I found this thread . . . I was tempted to post the same thing a couple days ago.


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## bugmankeith (Feb 17, 2007)

If you bred those odd beetles for fun who knows what their offspring would be like. You should try breeding them for fun, pretend to be a scientist.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## KrisKhaos (Jun 14, 2010)

I'm no expert, but I am guessing that those experiencing excessive numbers of deformed beetles as I am, (and have just recently started there own culture of them from store bought larvae), have been fed a hormone that is intended to prohibit them from pupating. Thus allowing a larger mealworm to be sold.

I assume they add it to the cheap/crappy food they feed them, however the dosage vs. tolerance may be the cause of the problem. I started my culture a few years back on the same commercial stock and never had a problem. When I restarted my culture again a few months ago, most of my adults are half pupa looking insects, where the abdomen looks as it does with the pupa, plus lacking the hard protective shells and wings found on the adults.

Thankfully I have plenty of living garbage disposals about the house to take care of the freaks.  As long as it moves, the bullfrogs will eat em.  If they don't, then the koi/goldfish will.  lol


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## BiologicalJewels (Jun 14, 2010)

some beetles will have elytra deformations if one or more of the following factors are present:

Too humid
too dry
improper nutrition

I am not suggesting this is what is going on with your darklings, but it may be something to look at.

What are you feeding your larvae?
Can you separate the larave into groups and try different feed, different humidity?

Might be something to consider.


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## GunOffSafety (Jul 11, 2010)

balam said:


> some beetles will have elytra deformations if one or more of the following factors are present:
> 
> Too humid
> too dry
> ...


I second Balam.

Approximately 5-10% of my beetles pupate out deformed. It is likely improper nutrition which leads to an inability to molt properly.


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## ZephAmp (Jul 11, 2010)

I'd bet on pupal damage or incorrect humidity.
If you leave the pupae in with the beetles they might get nibbled on, pushed around, etc. This causes scarring which could lead to strange deformities and problems with emerging.
Incorrect humidity could cause it too.


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## skips (Jul 12, 2010)

balam said:


> some beetles will have elytra deformations if one or more of the following factors are present:
> 
> Too humid
> too dry
> ...


I third this, with the addition of maybe too warm.  I get that a lot when I use a heat lamp.  Increasing heat should, unless some other mechanism interferes, increase maturation rate--correct me if i'm wrong.  I feel like jump starting there growth may not have a great effect.  I actually doubt it's genetics simply because deformed individuals probably dont breed too often.  Inbreeding is also too broadly assumed to be bad.  For many species it really doesnt matter, bugs especially.  I doubt most colonies have much genetic variation anyway.  Plus, inbreeding can be a good thing in the way that once you get past the initial inbreeding depression, all deleterious recessives have been weeded out anyway, leaving only super genes which leave your beetles with the potential to become a genetically superb crime fighting force.

I also doubt it is the feed.  that discussion has been had before and wasnt to convincing to me.  To others it might be though.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## icu2 (Aug 27, 2021)

Hi, we're in winter here in S.A. going on for spring. My first batch of beetles are perfectly normal, the next batch all have the wings apart. (Nothing covering their backs) They're in the same room, same sort of temps and I've never tested the humidity as I've bred mealworms for several years. I'm not sure if this deformity will lead to zero mating, but I assume so as they're a lot slower than the others. The larvae are all fed wheat bran and carrots for moisture. I have about 2 dozen tubs of mealworms and obviously others housing the pupae and more housing the beetles. Strange that this is the first time that I find this. Perhaps I should send them in for the jab lol. I will see if they do breed and post on the outcome.
Stay safe everyone. All the best!


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## kingshockey (Aug 27, 2021)

its from covid maybe  have had some shortages on meal worms,supers and cricks a few times in the area where i live where the suppliers cant keep up ewth the demand so who knows what they might be feeding em to cause faster growth rates etc.to keep up with demand


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## Dragon Rescuer (Sep 17, 2021)

guitarlust said:


> what could cause the deformation of a darkling beetle?? i have had it occur before too. the mealworm appears healthy and normal, same goes for the pupa and then BAM!! out comes the deformed darkling beetle. this time around the beetle does not have a shell covering the body. why would this happen?? i keep it humid and warm during the pupa period. normally this does not occur, but it irritates me and was wondering the cause.


I don't know why.   I have several deformed beetles  currently.  It seems nature forgets to finish the job, sometimes.


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## MrGhostMantis (Sep 17, 2021)

Dragon Rescuer said:


> I don't know why.   I have several deformed beetles  currently.  It seems nature forgets to finish the job, sometimes.


Please don’t  revive 13 year old threads.


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## SlaveToAGecko (Dec 14, 2021)

skips said:


> I third this, with the addition of maybe too warm.  I get that a lot when I use a heat lamp.  Increasing heat should, unless some other mechanism interferes, increase maturation rate--correct me if i'm wrong.  I feel like jump starting there growth may not have a great effect.  I actually doubt it's genetics simply because deformed individuals probably dont breed too often.  Inbreeding is also too broadly assumed to be bad.  For many species it really doesnt matter, bugs especially.  I doubt most colonies have much genetic variation anyway.  Plus, inbreeding can be a good thing in the way that once you get past the initial inbreeding depression, all deleterious recessives have been weeded out anyway, leaving only super genes which leave your beetles with the potential to become a genetically superb crime fighting force.
> 
> I also doubt it is the feed.  that discussion has been had before and wasnt to convincing to me.  To others it might be though.


I was reading and wondering where you were going with it. Then I hit the end and lost it!!!!


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