Mealworms eating Mealworms?

[OpalAndZayde]

Hello! I recently bought 1000 mealworms off of amazon with the intention of breeding them. They all arrived alive and well. However, after a few weeks, they have started to die.. I have been feeding them so I know they are eating. The strange thing is, They are hollow.. and have perfectly round mealworm sized holes in them, I'm suspecting that the other mealworms could be killing them? And I also have found TONS of pupae, and I've had the Pupae for at least 2 weeks, how long should it be before they turn into beetles? and when I do have the beetles, how should I set up their habitat? Thanks in advance! <3 ^.^

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

What are you feeding them currently?
What substrate do you have them housed in?

Is your container large enough to fit the 1000 comfortably?

The pupae don't typically last that long before turning into beetles. It seems like your colony is hungry, so they most likely are eating pupae and you're just seeing new pupae forming.
If that's the case, you can seperate the pupae to allow them to turn into beetles.

For the beetles, just keep them in the same type of setup as you do with the mealworms.
I use a container filled with oats for my mealworms and beetles.

There are lots of good youtube videos that go into better details, i'd recommend watching a few. I find them entertaining at least lol.

-Brandon

 

[OpalAndZayde]

Haha, thanks for your reply. I do a daily check for more Pupae, and they are in a separate container. I feed them Apples, which they seem to love. They also enjoy carrots, lettuce, and cucumber. I have them in a large plastic bin, around 10 gallons. Then their substrate is crushed up plain chex and rice crispies cereal. I have them in an old toy chest, it allows airflow, yet is a bit hot inside and black, which I have read is needed for them to grow faster. And I, too love watching mealworm videos and things like that... they are just kind of satisfying LOL

 

[AHBD]

Lol, only on an insect or reptile forum will you find someone that loves " mealworm videos:". :lol: I keep mealworms as well and never have any eating each other and very rarely find dead ones. A couple of suggestions:Instead of sugary cereal use oatmeal [ regular with nothing added , the kind that in a big cylinder ] or oat bran. That is healthier for them. And only a few small pieces of carrot in the container, I think too much of it can cause mold or just a wet environment. Apples + cukes might be too wet in that regard. Make sure they have really good airflow and don't keep them too warm, mine stay at about 65-75 F at the most.