Beetles dying in droves.

[Slavkleos]

I've had these guys since May, why are they dying? They have access to food and water and ventilation and places to hide and space and the darkness. My worms won't pupate so I can't regenerate the beetle supply.

 

[Wolfram1]

what are those?
Mealworm beatles, Tenebrio molitor?
or something else?
is there any condensation?

 

[Brewser]

Dehydration may be a concern,

 

[Slavkleos]

Yes and no, there is no condensation. Summer just ended. I'd keep the lid partially off when it did mist up. Now it's on and they just die. They're kept in a cupboard ontop of the superbeetle container next to the superpupae container.

 

[Slavkleos]

How much do I need to give? I've moved the survivors into a smaller container. They're about 20, there used to be around 100. I put the bedding in the baby worm containers. They're were 2 decently sized mealworms in there even though I replaced the bedding 2 weeks ago.

 

[Kada]

Some thoughts:

Beetles will die, it's normal.

They probably laid eggs and it takes time for the larvae to grow big enough to see.

Make sure even the tiniest ones have access to moisture. This is an issue with say bran and mold, but they still need it.

Possibly the food is sprayed. I have seen countless mealworm operations crash because the SGS testing on the bran/grain base was wrong/fake and they got poisoned.

 

[Slavkleos]

The death rate spiked, some of them look dusty. Shat do you mean by sprayed food and sgs testing?

 

[Kada]

The death rate spiked, some of them look dusty. Shat do you mean by sprayed food and sgs testing?

I mean food products are all tested by a SGS or similar testing lab to be permitted for manufacture into food or feed, or import. Not always, but organic foods are held to a more frequent testing regime. my only point with that is the testing is scattered, even random, and even the certified organic stuff can still be contaminated with stuff that will kill "bugs".

It's worth noting that in the food industry, "bugs" are generally considered a type of contamination and food stuffs are commonly "treated" to kill the exact animals we are trying to keep as pets. thats been the biggest obstacle against farming say insects for human foods, the FDA has lkng held them as a contimant, not a food. its changing now, but be aware of the industry at scale on a global basis. Mealworm are, end of the day, a pest and scourge against the economy (their opinion, not mine) In the eyes of the grain industry. Just takes one batch of chemically laced grain to wipe out everything. I've had it happen to me and seen it happen many a time with other businesses, even with SGS paperwork and lab reports on the feed stuff.


Not saying it's your specific issue. But I always look at that first assuming housing is on point.

 

[Slavkleos]

I use the same bag for my mealworms, superworms, superpupae and superbeetles and they're flourishing.