# I want to turn my super worms into beetles!



## hassman789 (Sep 14, 2010)

Ok so I want to try it and I have a few questions. I was reading a thread and they were saying oatmeal as substrate. Is INSTANT oatmeal ok for this? and I read that keeping one isolated one warm will speed things up alot and they will metamorphasize in about 2 weeks, is this true? And have any of you tried this isolated worm thing and had it worked so fast? Do I need to mist the oatmeal while it's still larvae? Ok sorry thats alot of questions but I have one more, Do they have a favorite flavor of oatmeal? Lol that one was a joke.....kinda (will they do better on certain kinds?) So thank you for any help you have, and if you don't want to type, mabey if you know a link to somthing. thanks


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## Offkillter (Sep 14, 2010)

I do absolutely nothing special to get beetles.I usually buy more worms than Ican feed off and I always end up with a few.Throw them some carrot,maybe some lettuce and walk away.To easy!


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## Nick (Sep 14, 2010)

i went to publix and asked them for old pill bottles and got 40 of them for 2.50.  up put them all in individual said bottle, it doesn't matter if you put the lid on or not as long as you check periodically.  once they turn into pupae take them out put them in a gladware container and wait for them to turn into beetles then put them in another container with regular oatmeal and any vegetable with little surface area to avoid pesticides. they also love flax seed, but i just happened to have it laying around. all was done in room temp(75 degrees)

also... google... http://www.geckotime.com/how-to-breed-superworms/


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## thebugfreak (Sep 14, 2010)

usually if you just buy the super worms at sports mart or petco or whatever and keep them at room temperature with that substrate, within like a month, they turn into beetles.


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## hassman789 (Sep 14, 2010)

Oh I just realized that they probably need to be the full grown ones (large) I'll get them next time I do to the store, then I'll do it!


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## Mperor (Sep 15, 2010)

Another option is to buy one of those partitioned jewelry or DIY bead boxes that kids use.

They usually have many compartments. So you can easily slip in one worm per partition.

I did read though that the superworms, unlike regular mealworms will only pupate if they're isolated.

Let us know how that goes!

I myself am watching my mealworms (regulars) pupating now with great excitement.


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## gothra (Sep 16, 2010)

Its necessary to isolate the individual worm for them to change, otherwise you'll need to wait for months! Just put each one in a small container - no food no water, the worm should pupate in about 2 weeks. Don't mist the oatmeal bedding, you're going to get mold very fast.


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## hassman789 (Sep 16, 2010)

Ok thanks everyone I have it in one of those containers that they come in but with only him and a little oatmeal. I probably can't expect much though because he's a medium. And I'm keeping him near the oil burner for warmth (also making sure I'm not cooking him lol)


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## Offkillter (Sep 17, 2010)

gothra said:


> Its necessary to isolate the individual worm for them to change, otherwise you'll need to wait for months! Just put each one in a small container - no food no water, the worm should pupate in about 2 weeks. Don't mist the oatmeal bedding, you're going to get mold very fast.


Wow I do the exact opposite and they pupate quickly without any problems,to each there own I suppose.I guess I just don't really care enough to isolate,and I've also found room temperature sufficient as well,anyway good luck to ya!


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## adam s (Sep 17, 2010)

I use wheat bran, wheat germ, and powdered milk for bedding.  Baby carrots and celery for water.  And I use pill boxes from a dollar store to seperate them.  Once seperated I put them in my closet and check periodically.  The beetles dry out fast so once they change put them in your beetle container with some carrots.  I've been doing this for a couple years now and works very well.


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## Mack&Cass (Sep 17, 2010)

Offkillter said:


> Wow I do the exact opposite and they pupate quickly without any problems,to each there own I suppose.I guess I just don't really care enough to isolate,and I've also found room temperature sufficient as well,anyway good luck to ya!


We don't isolate either, we got a really good idea from skinheaddave that we've been using and it's working great. 

Basically, you get a large tote, fill it with dirt, food, wood and superworms. The supers will burrow down and pupate, they're pretty much isolated but they do that all on their own. The beetles will climb to the top and breed. Then, once the population gets high enough that it's crowded, the worms will stop pupating and the population will come down, then go back up so it's pretty much self-sustaining. All we do is make sure there's enough food and whenever we do a feeder order we get about 250 supers to add to the colony.

We used to separate them using tackle boxes but we found that it took a long time, about 35% of them would die, and it was a lot more work than just putting them in a tote and basically forgetting about them for a couple weeks. I highly recommend this method.

Cass


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## NevularScorpion (Sep 17, 2010)

Mack&Cass said:


> We don't isolate either, we got a really good idea from skinheaddave that we've been using and it's working great.
> 
> Basically, you get a large tote, fill it with dirt, food, wood and superworms. The supers will burrow down and pupate, they're pretty much isolated but they do that all on their own. The beetles will climb to the top and breed. Then, once the population gets high enough that it's crowded, the worms will stop pupating and the population will come down, then go back up so it's pretty much self-sustaining. All we do is make sure there's enough food and whenever we do a feeder order we get about 250 supers to add to the colony.
> 
> ...


Can you show us some pics ? thanks


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## Toirtis (Sep 17, 2010)

I isolated when I did them....a couple of trays with 400 film canisters worked beautifully, and within no time, I had 350+ beetles. Film canisters are harder to find these days, so you might have to search out some sort of opaque pill-bottle or some such.


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## insect714 (Sep 17, 2010)

Toirtis said:


> Film canisters are harder to find these days, so you might have to search out some sort of opaque pill-bottle or some such.


Try calling a Walmart, Costco or Sam's Club they do a good amount of film processing still and are almost always willing to give away the old containers


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## Dessicaria (Sep 23, 2010)

Toirtis said:


> I isolated when I did them....a couple of trays with 400 film canisters worked beautifully, and within no time, I had 350+ beetles.


I tried mine with film canisters originally, and they ate their way out.  Now I use baby food jars with a hole punched in the center of the lid for air.  Works wonderfully; the worms pupate, and then emerge as beetles within a couple of weeks.

On rare occasions I do get a beetle developing on his own, but you'll wait forever if you want them to do that.  By the time the next one comes along, the first has died of old age.  So it's better to time them so a group all emerges together.

I've got my colony in one of those 3-drawer storage carts, and just periodically move the beetles into the next clean drawer on fresh bedding to lay more eggs.  I don't have vast numbers, but I have enough to feed my animals.


I have mealworms in a similar 3-drawer cart.  Of course they breed like crazy.


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## LittleOddIsopod (Jan 3, 2018)

Offkillter said:


> Wow I do the exact opposite and they pupate quickly without any problems,to each there own I suppose.I guess I just don't really care enough to isolate,and I've also found room temperature sufficient as well,anyway good luck to ya!


You most likely have mealworms, or very old superworms. Superworms should never pupate unless they are separated, or very old (sometimes over a year old). Can’t say for sure which one it is


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