# Thread about meal worms and hormones



## Bird Man (Mar 31, 2009)

Wasn't there just a thread in here not too long ago about meal worms being injected with hormones to create "super worms". I went back 15 pages, and searched, came up with nothing. I know I saw it somewhere.


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## Bill S (Mar 31, 2009)

Bird Man said:


> Wasn't there just a thread in here not too long ago about meal worms being injected with hormones to create "super worms". I went back 15 pages, and searched, came up with nothing. I know I saw it somewhere.


Somehow, I don't think that is happening.  It would be a VERY expensive, labor intensive way to create larger mealworms, and I doubt it would work.  And, there are other species of beetles that already produce larger "mealworm" larvae.  Far cheaper and easier to simply breed these larger species.


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## Mushroom Spore (Mar 31, 2009)

Superworms are a completely different species. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zophobas_morio

I don't think you can even inject an animal with an exoskeleton, not safely anyway.


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## LucasDuelin (Mar 31, 2009)

i believe they feed them Brewers/bakers yeast to make them swell to about double there normal size  i have brewers yeast for my fruit fly media and a mealworm colony but i have never put them together maybe i should try it


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## Cocoa-Jin (Mar 31, 2009)

I think I remember seeing something about exposure to a hormone that keeps the insect in their larvae state...allowing them to continue to grow to larger than normal sizes.

I cant remember if it was mealworms.  But I dont remember it requiring injection.


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## wedge07 (Mar 31, 2009)

Did anyone read the wiki link?


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## KenW (Mar 31, 2009)

wedge07 said:


> Did anyone read the wiki link?


No, I don't believe everything on wikipedia.  :} 

2 species we're talking about here.  One is the regular common boring old mealworm  _Tenebrio molitor_.  Grows a little over 1 inch.  Very common.  2nd species is _Zophobas morio_.  This is known as the superworm or kingworm.  These guys grow 1.5+ inches and are much thicker.  More meat to them.  

Sometimes companies will expose _Tenebrio molitor_ to hormones to grow them larger.  Not as large as superworms-an intermediate size. I really doubt anything is "injected", sprayed on perhaps?

http://www.nyworms.com/giant_mealworms.htm


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## wedge07 (Mar 31, 2009)

KenW said:


> No, I don't believe everything on wikipedia.  :}
> 
> 2 species we're talking about here.  One is the regular common boring old mealworm  _Tenebrio molitor_.  Grows a little over 1 inch.  Very common.  2nd species is _Zophobas morio_.  This is known as the superworm or kingworm.  These guys grow 1.5+ inches and are much thicker.  More meat to them.
> 
> ...


Well neither do I, but I am fairly sure this one is true.


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## skips (Apr 2, 2009)

Yeah, i'm thinking hormones for that purpose would be way too expensive when you could just bread the other species to get the bigger worms.  Yeast would make them explode seeing as they have a rigid chitinous exoskeleton that doesnt expand and I assume no way to expel gas.

And come on, I know people's high school teachers tell them not to use wikipedia, but I would say 99% of the content i've ever read has been correct. That looks like a perfectly sound article. Just don't write your dissertation with it.


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## Buspirone (Apr 4, 2009)

skips said:


> Yeah, i'm thinking hormones for that purpose would be way too expensive when you could just bread the other species to get the bigger worms.  Yeast would make them explode seeing as they have a rigid chitinous exoskeleton that doesnt expand and I assume no way to expel gas.
> 
> And come on, I know people's high school teachers tell them not to use wikipedia, but I would say 99% of the content i've ever read has been correct. That looks like a perfectly sound article. Just don't write your dissertation with it.


The hormone is generally used as a form of pest control around stables/livestock to curb fly populations. It affects the molting cycle of the larva so they don't mature. The few cases where the larva do pupate they die or the adult is sterile, IIRC. I wouldn't use giant mealworms as a food source for invertebrates just as a precaution especially if a keeper had any plans to attempt breeding. 

Another problem is with the use of common names for feeders. If in doubt as to whether you have giant mealworms or superworms is to refrigerate them.  Gaint mealworms will survive but superworms will die from the cold.


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## inverts (Apr 4, 2009)

Mushroom Spore said:


> Superworms are a completely different species. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zophobas_morio


I am not disagreeing with your statement, but wikipedia is not always the most reliable source for information.


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## LucasDuelin (Nov 20, 2009)

hello all   we decided to see if brewers yeast will make mealworms bigger  1st container 30 mealworms all stages of life 10 tbsp oatmeal 8 tbsp brewers yeast    2nd container 30 mealworms all stages of life 10 tbsp oatmeal we will feed both cultures the same vegetables and same size portions  we will dig up thread in a couple of months to let you guys know how it turned out we will not be using them as feeders


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## It_Glows (Nov 21, 2009)

LucasDuelin said:


> i believe they feed them Brewers/bakers yeast to make them swell to about double there normal size  i have brewers yeast for my fruit fly media and a mealworm colony but i have never put them together maybe i should try it


i heard they spray the mealworms with some kind of bug spray that prevents them from pupating, and when they try, they die but most don't and those that don't pupate/die grow larger


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## myrmecophile (Nov 21, 2009)

Although I dont use mealworms for anything these days I would be very reluctant to use any kind of treated worm for my animals. I work in pest control and one of the selling points of the growth regulators we use is that they "move" from the treated area to other parts of a structure, meaning of course untreated areas will still have  a measurable amount of chemical present. This to me says that other arthropods exposed to treated worms could very well be exposed to the material itself and be effected.  This is very important to me as a great many of the growth regulators on the pest control market will effect more than just the labeled target organism. Just my own paranoid view.


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## Elytra and Antenna (Nov 21, 2009)

I reared out the hormone fed Tenebrio molitor long ago and they pupated and changed to adult beetles without incident. Of course the offspring were normal sized. I fed some of the originals to predatory larvae and it didn't affect them (was hoping it would of course).


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## Seism (Nov 21, 2009)

Buspirone said:


> The hormone is generally used as a form of pest control around stables/livestock to curb fly populations. It affects the molting cycle of the larva so they don't mature. The few cases where the larva do pupate they die or the adult is sterile, IIRC. I wouldn't use giant mealworms as a food source for invertebrates just as a precaution especially if a keeper had any plans to attempt breeding.
> 
> Another problem is with the use of common names for feeders. If in doubt as to whether you have giant mealworms or superworms is to refrigerate them.  Gaint mealworms will survive but superworms will die from the cold.


So I shouldn't feed my T "giant mealworms" I bought at Petco? I thought that they were large mealworms replaced with the word giant for marketing purposes. These mealworms range from .75-1.40 in. in length. Are these hormone-fed? Safe for Ts? 

And yes I realize this thread is old.


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## sharpfang (Nov 26, 2009)

*Giant Mealworms @ Petco...*

Yes - They have been givin' Hormones.....To be a larger food Item........

Happens with peoples food as well....Think about it........I don't use them anymore.....Although when I did........I had Amazing success with breeding Reptiles of ALL kinds........They got food Items of all kinds as well, though....

Just go get gut-loaded Crickets from your Local FEED Store.........And "catch" food when capable/possible........Good Luck!

Jason - Reptile, and now, T-Breeder!


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