Superworm Pupae Question

[Slavkleos]

Should I put the pupae in the beetle container? Will they be attacked by the beetles if there is adequate moisture?

I've had everything seperate. There's 1 male and 4 females in the big container and males and females in their own containers (I'm putting in 1 male for every 4 females because I heard that's the most effective combo for reducing aggression), pupae in one container that's almost full, superworms in their own compartment boxes and superworms in the last container, I have about 4 more but pupating will stop because those last few worms are too small to pupate.

I've yet to see them breed at all. I put 2 new females in the big container tonight, the temperature has been cold the last few days peaking in the early 20s to even 10 at night (which is unusual because I live in a very warm place).

Is the single beetle okay? He's been like that all day since he started moulting from pupae to beetle.

I also have these things that came with the heatpad I use for the crickets shown in the last 2 images but I don't know what they're for and the information booklet doesn't mention what they are.

 

[WhiteMoss]

I think your greatly over thinking the ease of breeding them. For what purpose are you breeding them? Feeders? Are you trying to control their breeding rate?

 

[Slavkleos]

Two reasons; Use as food for the magpies that live on my street along with the mealworms and crickets and sell to whoever wants them when I establish a good breeding population which will take months.

 

[WhiteMoss]

Easiest way is;
-Buy a plastic file cabinet from Walmart, staples, Amazon etc
-drill holes in the bottom of the top drawer (no substrate)
-pieces of egg carton in top
-some top soil and egg cartons in the bottom two drawers

Put the beetles in the top. The worms will fall through the holes into the drawer below. Change out the drawers every so often to keep worms going in both the bottoms. Don't worry about temps or humidity. Soil can be bone dry. Just make sure to provide lettuce and carrots and something for protein (though not required). Pick the biggest worms separate them and isolate to pupate to keep new beetles coming.

This was the height of my colony when I was selling them. They're about 3-4" deep as well. (This was during a substrate change. They weren't housed like this lol)

 

[Slavkleos]

I spent way too much on supplies for them, they're the first thing I started breeding. I live in Australia and don't drive since I only have a learner's license so I won't be able to get those supplies until I figure out a way to make more money.

 

[WhiteMoss]

Yeah with these guys simplicity is best. Once you get into using oats or bran you end up with mites and mold. You can use Tupperware as well. Just put a thin layer of topsoil with the beetles and every couple of months dump it into the worm container. Use thin layers so you don't end up with a huge amount of soil with the worms after a few months. You'll have to hand pick out the beetles but they're easy to spot lol. I also change the egg cartons every so often and put them in with the worms.

 

[Ultum4Spiderz]

Easiest way is;
-Buy a plastic file cabinet from Walmart, staples, Amazon etc
-drill holes in the bottom of the top drawer (no substrate)
-pieces of egg carton in top
-some top soil and egg cartons in the bottom two drawers

Put the beetles in the top. The worms will fall through the holes into the drawer below. Change out the drawers every so often to keep worms going in both the bottoms. Don't worry about temps or humidity. Soil can be bone dry. Just make sure to provide lettuce and carrots and something for protein (though not required). Pick the biggest worms separate them and isolate to pupate to keep new beetles coming.

This was the height of my colony when I was selling them. They're about 3-4" deep as well. (This was during a substrate change. They weren't housed like this lol)
View attachment 473911

I use multiple bins no money for a tiered cabinet..🫤 I’m having issues though .

Raising mealworms?? Tips ?

Bone-dry coco fiber. I added a little used millipede substrate one time but that's not really needed. The coco fiber should serve just fine for your substrate. I had issues using coco fiber or topsoil because it would mold when I place veggies in there for the meal worms to eat, and it’s hard...

arachnoboards.com

 

[RyanW]

Those rubber feet are to create a gap if you decide to put the heat pad on the bottom of whatever enclosure it is going on. If the heat pad is sandwiched too tightly between the enclosure and what its resting on you can run into issues.

Have you thought about trying mealworms? I think theyre easier than supers.

 

[Slavkleos]

i have crickets, mealworms and superworms. I think I saw two beetles "breeding" just 5 minutes ago but they're both males. I have about 10 males in the male box and 0 females in the female box.

With mealworms some have started pupating, I have 7 pupae as of now.

Just checked, I have 2 more pupae. I have them seperated from the worms.

Just checked under the cardboard and found 3 more.

 

[WhiteMoss]

i have crickets, mealworms and superworms. I think I saw two beetles "breeding" just 5 minutes ago but they're both males. I have about 10 males in the male box and 0 females in the female box.

With mealworms some have started pupating, I have 7 pupae as of now.

Just checked, I have 2 more pupae. I have them seperated from the worms.

Just checked under the cardboard and found 3 more.

Just curious, how are you determining their sex?

 

[Slavkleos]

Left is male, right is female. Found this image on here a few months ago.