Superworm diet (wade and evil cheshire come here)

[bugmankeith]

Ok, I gathered some rotting wood, and got a piece of the bark to show you, so you can tell what tree it is.

I'm planning on crumbling the wood so they can dig through it/eat it. I will still give them apples,potatoes,etc.. as added nutrition and water.

And when they are ready to pupate, I can always go back and collect chunks (like you see in the picture)

By the way people in Japan that keep them as pets say they are ready to pupate at 2 inches (minimum)

If you dont use wood, put them each in a container with a bit of oat bran, and a slice of carrot, make sure they have air holes, then seal it. Sometimes, they will actually molt and just become bigger, so it's best to check on them once a week. If they molt then put them back with the rest and let them fatten up before isolating them again.


The wood

 

[Stylopidae]

Does it smell like pine?

If not, I'd say it's good.

When we say log, we simply mean an actual spongey log about the width of your bicep or bigger. Something they can make a pupation chamber in.

I'd still give them oats and other food like you said you would.

In terms of feeding, I'd say you have it down pat. If you're wanting the superworms to pupate in the wood, you need a huge chunk.

If you're using it as a nutritional additive, then as long as it doesn't smell like pine you're doing OK.

I'm gonna wait for Wade to come along, because I've never actually reared superworms successfully.

Yeah, it sounds like you're doing everything right.

 

[padkison]

My daughter had a superworm colony. She took one out and isolating it in an empty plastic container with nothing inside. It pupated and turned into a beetle in about two weeks.

 

[beetleman]

yeah, did ya ever pick up the adult beetle........man they spray that volital chlourine like smell,and it's hard to wash off but i luv em anyway

 

[arachnocat]

Yikes! I didn't know they spray. I thought they were just stinky. :}

 

[bugmankeith]

Nope,no pine smell.

Also remember, if it was pine it would be sticky when I touched it, and it's not sticky.

I was thinking when I seperate them, i'll line the "chamber" with bits of the wood, and a carrot slice for moisture, so it will be like a real chamber.

Do the adult beetles eat wood, i've never kept the beetles so I dont know what to feed them. I dont care if they breed or not, either way I wont be keeping the eggs, no use for more superworms.

 

[bugmankeith]

Well I added the superworms to the wood, as soon as they were in they started munching away at the wood. And the fact the wood was fresh, gives it added nutrients and a heck of alot of moisture! Well they have large jaws, so wood to them is like butter to us, doesnt stand a chance for our jaws.

That's how you can tell, oats and potatoes are NOT the proper diet for them. We just feed them that because it's convenient, and if our pets ate larvae that injested wood, we would worry about parasites I guess.

But it's a fact, they DO eat rotting wood. I added some sliced carrots for more variety, but for now, they didnt bother touching them.

I dont see any harm letting the beetles eat the wood, mabye they would produce healthier/more volume of eggs.

It makes you wonder, should we be feeding some of our roaches and giant millipedes rotting wood?

 

[Wade]

I have rotten wood and decayed leaves in with all my millipedes and most of my beetles. Some millipedes eat nothing else and will ignore vegetables (although such millis do love mushrooms, which are fungi and presumably a part of the natural diet).

Very dark, well rotted wood is preffered by dynastine scarb larvae, bess beetles, and others. Lighter, less-decayed (but still soft enought to break apart) seems to be preferred by millipedes. I've seen superworms eat surprisingly hard woods, but they usually leave the bark. I've got bark "tubes" that have been left after the larvae have eaten all the wood from the inside.

I don't know that the Zophobas are strictly wood feeders in the wild as much as they are just general detritus feeders that feed on whatever decaying organic material they find. Wood seems to be important for both pupation and egglaying, the adult beetles ley eggs in the cracks of dead wood.

The adult darklings may eat some wood (not sure), but I do offer them other foods. I always have some unmedicated chick mash availble for them, which they seem to enjoy, as well as the occasional vegetable or fruit.

Rumor has it that the original culture stock of Zophobas was collected in caves and had been feeding mainly on bat guano!

Wade

 

[bugmankeith]

Rumor has it that the original culture stock of Zophobas was collected in caves and had been feeding mainly on bat guano!

Hey, they sound like roomies for my cockroaches, jk. Wow that's interesting, mabye they too will eat cooked hamburger meat as added protein? I still give the larvae other foods too like fruits and veggies with the decaying wood.

 

[Wade]

I'm not sure there's much they will turn down, including soft, freshly molted tarantulas! I hink the main reason hey want to get away from each other to pupate is that the pupae get eaten if they can't.

Wade

 

[dtknow]

Why no pine for superworms? Darkling beetles in the Sierras are always found in pine logs.

 

[squamata99]

I have a successful colony going without wood at all. I started with about 30 beetles. I use a 10 gal aquarium. I went to a feed store for some of that chick mash and they thought I wanted chicken feed. So I took this chicken feed-a mixture of crushed corn and various seeds-and decided to try it. I put in 2 cup holder crates from fast food store, and a couple of up turned water dishes. The worms like to congregate in these dark areas. When I want to take some out I will find many of them here. They are fed a grinded cat and dog food mixture and carrots. The beetles may need the wood because a few died off kind of quickly but many are still alive. I already have a lot of adult worms from these beetles so I can replenish the stock of beetles again. I will keep doing this in a cycle.

-Rene-

"Buy some spiders from me" - Please

 

[cacoseraph]

Why no pine for superworms? Darkling beetles in the Sierras are always found in pine logs.

i am just guessing and haven't read the thread, but...

pine has turpenes. turpenes are natural insecticides. some animals that live in pine forests have adapted defenses or immunity to turpenes. these animals would probably be loaded with turpenes. presumably the underlying point of a superworm thread is that the superworms are feeders to something else... and since we are on AB it is likely the something else will be some kind of invert... so you could end up feeding your pet poison feeders

but like i said:

i am just guessing and haven't read the thread, but...

ahahahahahahaaa

 

[Matt K]

I have a colony going in an open tub, 2 inches potting soil, water one end and lots of wheat germ on the other, with occasional carrot or apple in the middle. Loads or superworms.