Tenebrio molitor

[Drachenjager]

Hey, i wasnt sure really where to post this but since i have both myriapods and taratulas and the mealworms are in the pede container...
anyway , to mealworms pose any threat if left uneaten in the container wiht a pede or a tarantula? some burrowed in the sub on my pede container... some were eaten too lol just wondered if the beetles were edible by the bugs too and if the grubs or beetles would be a threat in some cases?

 

[Texas Blonde]

Its my understanding that darkling beetles are unsafe to eat, and could actually kill a T. I always crush the heads of the mealies when feeding to make sure they dont burrow.

 

[DavidRS]

I beg to differ. I have fed at times tenebrio beetles to spiders, although some T's may not care for them. Also the beetle itself doesn't have that much nutritional value compared to the larval form.

I will have to try crushing the head on the worms as they do have that annoying burrowing habit. Do they still move about to attract the spider's attention, though? And I have a bad habit of begging.;P

 

[cacoseraph]

I beg to differ. I have fed at times tenebrio beetles to spiders, although some T's may not care for them. Also the beetle itself doesn't have that much nutritional value compared to the larval form.

I will have to try crushing the head on the worms as they do have that annoying burrowing habit. Do they still move about to attract the spider's attention, though? And I have a bad habit of begging.;P

i've fed the beetles off successfully to a few different things. the only animal i had that actually seemed to eat the beetle with some gusto was a gravid G. rosea. virtually everything ignores the beetles though. after eating the beetle the rosea eventually made a sac with 173 babies in it

DRS: i've found that most of my bugs will eat prekilled. my wimpy ass centipedes almost exclusively eat prekilled. really, the only bugs that didn't take to it right away were some of my arboreal tarantulas. even they will eat it, but it seems like bodies stay uneaten the longest in their cages, typically.

also, it takes some time, somtimes, for a predator to key into the fact that something is good to eat. there is sometimes a marked difference between the feeding response i get when a feeder is new, compared to an old favorite.

just recently i fed a spiderling a mini-mealworm type of larva and it was so funny to watch... the spiderling kept on poking at the worm with it's legs and would get closer and closer... then the worm would twitch and the spider would get scared... but soon start edging closer and closer... it finally did the most hilarious bite i have ever seen (it seriously looked like the spider had every intention of doing a "drive by biting") and then waited to see what would happen. i wish i had had more time to watch that little drama unfold

 

[Texas Blonde]

I beg to differ. I have fed at times tenebrio beetles to spiders, although some T's may not care for them. Also the beetle itself doesn't have that much nutritional value compared to the larval form.

I will have to try crushing the head on the worms as they do have that annoying burrowing habit. Do they still move about to attract the spider's attention, though? And I have a bad habit of begging.;P

Im honestly not sure where I heard that about the beetles, but it was at least 3 years ago, as I remember being freaked out when I found a fresh beetle in a rose hair sling cage, and being told I was lucky I found it before it killed the T.

I raised Tenebrio obscurus for my very small dwarf spiderlings, and since they are more active in general than molitor, there was never a problem after I crushed them. I actually got quite good at crushing them right below the heads so they would still squirm, but were barely able to move. Taking out their legs seemed to be the key. Ive posted some pics of my obscurus in the past, truly interesting bugs, reaching barely over the diameter of a dime at full size. The beetles are maybe a 1/4" at maturity. I plan on breeding them again this year if I get the time, they seem to be harder than molitor, as I only had very few mature to beetle form.