Jim, the darkling beetle

[MantidBro]

I bought some super worms for my bearded dragon. My friend taught me how to pupate the worm and make it transform into a beetle. Basically, a few days after the worm is full-grown (you'll stop finding exuviae in it's container), stop feeding it/hydrating it. Keep it in a dark place. Try not to disturb it by letting too much light in if you're going to observe it. After 2 weeks, the worm curls into a 'C' or 'O' shape. This means they're going to pupate in a few days. Once a pupa, it takes 2 more weeks for them to come out of the exuvia, and then they are a beetle. Here's photos I took of the process:

And here's Jim darkening:

Brown...

And then black. (He's drinking water off my finger, here -- freakin' adorable.)

And here's a video of Jim climbing around in his all-natural home/container:

 

[Malakyoma]

All 3 stages of life make excellent mantis food as well. kind of a pain to get a bunch of them to pupate at once though.

 

[MantidBro]

All 3 stages of life make excellent mantis food as well. kind of a pain to get a bunch of them to pupate at once though.

My Phyllocrania paradoxa didn't do so well with super worms, as they're meant to eat flying foods, but all stages do make good food for mantids like the Heirodula majuscula and others around that size, I agree. And they won't pupate while in the same container, they need to be separated. Some do still pupate when with others but it's rare.

 

[Malakyoma]

. And they won't pupate while in the same container, they need to be separated. Some do still pupate when with others but it's rare.

Thats what I meant by its a pain You should see all the 3oz cups in the bottom drawer of my desk I used on top of a fishing tackle box to pupate my last batch.

 

[MantidBro]

Thats what I meant by its a pain You should see all the 3oz cups in the bottom drawer of my desk I used on top of a fishing tackle box to pupate my last batch.

Ooh I thought you meant you were keeping them together and they weren't pupating, so I thought I'd let you know why, lol. How many cups?

 

[Malakyoma]

Ooh I thought you meant you were keeping them together and they weren't pupating, so I thought I'd let you know why, lol. How many cups?

I pupated 50 at a time. so quite a few. didnt smell very nice when I opened them all up either.

 

[Digger]

Alexander,

Ponder saw Jim on the screen. She asked me to invite him over for lunch.

 

[MantidBro]

I pupated 50 at a time. so quite a few. didnt smell very nice when I opened them all up either.

Sweet! Jim didn't smell bad during his changes, though. What do you think caused the smell, for you?

 

[MantidBro]

Alexander,

Ponder saw Jim on the screen. She asked me to invite him over for lunch.

Lol. I bet she did. I've been tempted to feed him to my mantids, too, but I figure I'll let him live. Unless if I run out of food and there's no other option.

 

[Malakyoma]

Sweet! Jim didn't smell bad during his changes, though. What do you think caused the smell, for you?

A combination of worms that died instead of pupating and since they're stuck in cups there's only one place to poop... so opening a drawer with 50 cups of worm and death can smell quite unlike flowers

 

[ScienceGirl]

Cute little habitat you got him in!

 

[MantidBro]

A combination of worms that died instead of pupating and since they're stuck in cups there's only one place to poop... so opening a drawer with 50 cups of worm ###### and death can smell quite unlike flowers

Quite unlike flowers haha, oh yeah when they die they smell nasty.

 

[MantidBro]

Cute little habitat you got him in!

Thanks lol. Ever since I put him in there he's been more active. And when I go to take him out he hides under the leaf, like he's wild, lol.

 

[glock34girl]

Iam confused by what you guys mean as far as them not pupating in the same containers. I have my own mealie farm to support my sugar gliders worm fetish. It's a simple three drawer setup. Worm in top drawer, pupae in middle, dwellings in last. They pupate just fine, I don't seperate them into individual cups. Once the beetles have lid their eggs they are fed off or given away and that drawer is dumped into a different container filled with baby rice and dated.

Are super worms different from mealies? I was always told super worms from pet shops were raised on a hormone that prevented them from pupating so they would get larger. Now before anyone goes crazy demanding citations and all that, I have none. It's a question. Are the two different and are super worms treated with a hormone? My guess is that they can't all be otherwise it would cease to exist.

 

[Malakyoma]

Iam confused by what you guys mean as far as them not pupating in the same containers. I have my own mealie farm to support my sugar gliders worm fetish. It's a simple three drawer setup. Worm in top drawer, pupae in middle, dwellings in last. They pupate just fine, I don't seperate them into individual cups. Once the beetles have lid their eggs they are fed off or given away and that drawer is dumped into a different container filled with baby rice and dated.

Are super worms different from mealies? I was always told super worms from pet shops were raised on a hormone that prevented them from pupating so they would get larger. Now before anyone goes crazy demanding citations and all that, I have none. It's a question. Are the two different and are super worms treated with a hormone? My guess is that they can't all be otherwise it would cease to exist.

Super worms are very different from mealies. I have a similar setup for mealworms as you do, but superworms take special care. They're a different species entirely. Superworms will not pupate in a colony setting, they have to be separated into individual containers like 3oz cups. They'll pupate there, and after a few weeks will hatch out, then I put them back together to mate and lay eggs

 

[Tony C]

Iam confused by what you guys mean as far as them not pupating in the same containers. I have my own mealie farm to support my sugar gliders worm fetish. It's a simple three drawer setup. Worm in top drawer, pupae in middle, dwellings in last. They pupate just fine, I don't seperate them into individual cups. Once the beetles have lid their eggs they are fed off or given away and that drawer is dumped into a different container filled with baby rice and dated.

Are super worms different from mealies? I was always told super worms from pet shops were raised on a hormone that prevented them from pupating so they would get larger. Now before anyone goes crazy demanding citations and all that, I have none. It's a question. Are the two different and are super worms treated with a hormone? My guess is that they can't all be otherwise it would cease to exist.

Superworms are a different species, Zophobas morio, mealworms are Tenebrio molitor. You are thinking of giant mealworms, which are indeed hormone treated Tenebrio and typically do not pupate.

 

[glock34girl]

Ahhhhhh gotcha! Thanks guys! I was thinking what in the world is all this with individual cups! Stick them in a drawer! Lol thanks for te info, appreciate it!