Looks like I might have a mealworm colony

T 'n T

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
68
Got a tub of the critters a few months back and fed a few to my Ts, then forgot all about them. Time passed and I guiltily opened the container, prepared for a bunch of desiccated mealies. But no! The tub was full of little black beetles. :eek:

This was totally unexpected, because I thought you had to isolate the worms or they wouldn’t morph into beetles. Nope, and the lack of water didn't seem to bother them either. So there I was, stuck with a bunch of unwanted beetles.

I was responsible for this mess and they might be interesting to watch, so I fished out a small enclosure for them. Dumped some substrate on the bottom and put in two bottlecaps with cricket chow and water gel. I also cut a toilet paper roll in half so they could climb as well as burrow. The beetles loved to climb, BTW.

Didn’t take long for them to die off, they got to live out their brief little lives. But when I went to empty the cricket chow bottlecap there was movement: little mealworms so tiny I needed a magnifying glass to see them!

This has been going on for a couple of cycles. Right now the enclosure has both beetles and mealworms of varying sizes, cohabitating peacefully (I think). Also the occasional mealie that looks like a grub, lol. Not a large colony, but they show no signs of dying off.

So there you have it. Easy to raise, all I give them is cricket chow (which they drag into the dirt, messy little eaters), gel, and the occasional bit of fruit or veggie. I’ve already fed three to my T’s so far. :D
 

ArachnoCrazy

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 21, 2005
Messages
221
Zophobas morio need to be seperated so they can pupate, but Tenebrio molitor do not need to be seperated.

Mealworms are extremly easy to care for. All I do is throw in rolled oats or chicken food for substrate and food, and give them veggies and fruits for their water.
 
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Louise E. Rothstein

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 10, 2005
Messages
430
Dear Arachnopeon,

Congratulations! Wish I'd done as well with MY mealworms...I have none now.

I do have some unusual mice. Since your classified ad(s) indicate that you
work with mice too I wonder whether we could swap on them...since I am
too disabled to drive I would be happy to swap some of them for supplies
that I cannot easily replace because I cannot drive anything anywhere.

Yours very truly,
Louise E. Rothstein
crystalfan2912@yahoo.com
 
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