Superworms(Zoophobas mario)

[arizona]

Hey all have any of you ever tried breeding superworms(Zoophobas mario)? Any tips or tricks? I purchased about 500 of them and seperated a few so that they would turn into beetles. So this morning I wake up to find four beetles(with more on the way), cool huh. I just hope that some are males and females cause I heard that it all depends at the temprature they are kept at. Anyway what I am looking for is free food for my gecko,tarantula and scorpion cause they only sell crickets here and if I want anything else I have to order it.

 

[danread]

Hi Arizona,

Have a look at the sticky at the top of this forum.

Cheers,

 

[eksong]

It's easier than I thought. A few months back I found at least 10 or so superworm pupae under a tarantula's waterbowl. I transferred all of them into a shoebox with oatmeal. Since then, they've all turned into these hideous black beetles, and I am already seeing really small worms in the substrate.

 

[arizona]

Thanks guys! Ya a few of my superworms got away from my gecko and went into the substrate and I found a beetle in there yesterday.

 

[Wish_mastera]

Hey, I've got few question about my superworms colony... I've started with 18 fat superworms., they mutate in larves and then in beatles. After 1-2 months I've got more then 500 superworms and now come the question: I've separete the superworms in boxes, but is there any sence what size are the superworms? I think from smaller ones I bekome male beatles(as its fit 4 of my first separated superworms from the new generation). From bigger and fatter superworms I get female beatles. Am I right or? And another question.... To get more females, I should wait for superworms to get bigger and then to separete. Is this so, or I'm wrong?

Greetings,
Stanislav

 

[arachnocat]

I would like to try raising mealworms again. Last time I got thousands of yucky grain mites. I was using oatmeal as a substrate. Is there something else I could use that won't attract mites? My whole tupperware container was covered with them. It was pretty impressive. And disgusting.

 

[Vermis]

Arizona: yup, what Dan said. 'Xcept it's in the articles section, not here in the insects section. Er... if that's what he meant.
On a personal note, my heated space is limited so I'm breeding them in ventilated sandwich boxes (12" long, couple of inches tall), rotating the beetles every so often. 1-2 dozen beetles are producing a lot of worms for me - maybe not much compared to the almost-industrial examples in the article, but more than enough for my needs. I'd say my spider/scorp collection could be twice the size and I'd still have more than enough...
Right now the beetles are in the third box, and the worms in the first are almost big enough to be dumped into the large, unheated box with my 'breeding stock' (i.e. full-sized worms) - ahead of schedule, considering the number of boxes I thought I'd need.

Eksong: speciesist! :razz:

Stanislav: Um. I don't think size has much to do with it, beyond any natural dimorphism. It's a pretty weird concept, IMO. But I don't know.

Arachnocat: That was my problem, a month or two ago. My spur-of-the-moment decision (crazy in hindsight) was to remove and rinse each worm. Good thing it was only the 'stock' box, with a relatively few, big worms.
I put them in a better-ventilated tub, and made sure to remove any substantial fruit scraps. No serious infestations have occured since then, though that might also have something to do with the Hypoaspis/Stratiolaelaps now patrolling the place.