Breeding mealworms!

[NurseKrista1014]

Just needed to ask a few questions!

So first of all on March 7th I bought 1000 mealworms. I decided to try to breed them, but at the same time I was using half of them as treats for my two bearded dragons.

Finally after all this time about 3 weeks ago I noticed PUPAE! I was soo happy.
Three of these turned into beetles already.
BUT, I only managed to have 21 pupae all together. (so 18 left to turn into beetles)
No where online does it specify how many beetles I need to lay eggs.
I have been searching but I'm not sure.
Do you need more than one beetle for breeding or are beetles Asexual?
If they are not Asexual, is 21 beetles enough?

If someone could get back to mee this would be awesome!
Thanks!

 

[argolupin]

i started out with just 35 giant meal worms. 32 beetles should be fine, just as a not keep your bedding that you would normally throw away. i invested in a few 5 gallon buckets, but you could probably use 1 or 2 gallon ones, i like the 5 gallon because i can easily get lids for them. put the dirty bedding in there and thenwith in 4-5 months you should be able to throw it away (getting the timing down i wait maore like 7-8 months before i throw it away). you can still have eggs that haven't hatched yet or microscopic mealies. for the first 6 months i was breeding i kept everyone in the same container but i dont do that anymore, i've been breeding them for 9 months now (it started out an accident). you won't get alot of mealies from 21 at first, but if you let your beetle population grow it can really pay off.I have about 50-60 beetles right now and another 40 pupae and finding more every day. just make sure to keep potatoe or carrot or something for moisture in there or the beetles will feed on the pupae. i seperate mine out beetles in one container, mealies in another, and pupae in another. It helps me keep an eye on everyone.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

yeah it was an accident that I was breeding them as well. I tried before and online it said it takes only 2 weeks for the larvae (mealworms) to change into the pupae so I waited that long and nothing happened so I fed them to my beardies. So this time I bought 1000 mealworms on March 9th and I fed my beardies most of them untill I found 21 pupae, at first I thought it was like maggotts growing or something because of the carrotts and potatoes inside the container but I decided to research it and seen that it was pupae, and then one turned into a beetle so I was soo happy, and ever since 3 days in a row I have found one beetle in the pupae container. So I put them in another container that has two potatoe slices in it.

So do you think 21 beetles would be enough to start it off?
And when should these eggs be layed?

 

[argolupin]

21 should be enough, it depends on how big the meal worms were when you seperateds them out to become pupae. if some were smaller it could take them longer. I would say you should start noticing TINY almost microscopic meal worms in approximately 3 weeks or so, expect you wont have feedable meal worms for around 7 or 8 weeks depending on the size you breed, the beetles only stay alive for 6-8 weeks so i would go ahead and buy more meal worms and start trying to change them into beetles, also what bedding are you using and what is your set up like?

 

[NurseKrista1014]

They just became pupae I didn't separate them out! But when I seen beetles I put them into a new container. They are in oats because it was the only thing I had when I bought them and I read that you can give them oats or bran as a substrate.

This is the Pupae container

you can see some

This is a close up of one

And this is a picture of the only three beetles I have so far!

The are in a container a bit smaller than what the pupae are in because I was not expecting beetles!

 

[argolupin]

ok, next time you go to add bedding take a blender and grind it up really fine, i buy equal oats and cat food and grind them up (i am trying this today actually) and mix them together, but definately grind the oats really fine, it makes hunting for babies in the substrate so much easier... also i just bought some ziploc storage containers for putting food in (they don't have to be huge) and put my pupea in there, it also protects the newly hatching beetles as they are emerging from the pupea shell.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

so other than my bedding everything is fine?

 

[suzuki4life]

oat meal and wheat germ are both great for getting wheat mites which will kill your colony hence why I use corn meal.

Corn meal+ carrot+ heat= hands off colony.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

How should I change this? Like when would be the best time.

 

[suzuki4life]

personally, if you aren't having problems then keep the colony flowing. You could start a new tub and use some beetles from your existing colony to populate the new one based on corn meal. Then use the orignal colony for feeding from. Over time they both exist or the bad news comes true and you lose one. This way you won't lose all.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

do you suggest using bran? Because its the easiest for me to get ahold of and probably one of the cheapest. I have never actually seen cornmeal in the store thats by my house but I know they have bran.

 

[suzuki4life]

do you suggest using bran? Because its the easiest for me to get ahold of and probably one of the cheapest. I have never actually seen cornmeal in the store thats by my house but I know they have bran.

I use corn meal I get from walmart

bran is most likely "wheat bran" which I already commented on.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

oh sorry, okay than ya. I will find some corn meal

 

[suzuki4life]

I also wanted to add, I use "unbleached" corn meal. It is bright yellow when it first comes out of the package. When it turns black, it is ready to change. Very long time normally and the change in color will be drastic.

I also tend to bury my carrots in the substrate. No worries, they will find them. Burying them keeps away gnats and will help prolong the time it takes for them to dry out. I have never had one mold that has been buried in the substrate. They just dry up like the root they are.

Mealworms are one of the easiest feeders to deal with.

I use the multi drawer sterile units and sit the entire thing over one of my cage vents for heat. A half of carrot per drawer per week normally and all is good. For easy separation, i bought a "sand screen" tool from the pet shop with a handle. Makes shifting them out really easy. However it will be dusty so do it in well ventilated areas.

 

[NurseKrista1014]

Ok so as of this morning, I now have 6 beetles.