Superworms in with the dubia?

[icelore]

I was cleaning out my breeding bin and pulling the tiny nymphs yesterday, and I found 20 or so superworms in there, and adult 5-6 beetles. o.0 I knocked over the bowl I keep my supers in a while ago, and I didn't realize that some fell into the roach bin. I was surprised to see them all alive, as well as HUGE AND FAT! Some of the worms look like they are beginning to pupate as well...creepy little aliens that don't like to be poked.

I've never bred super's before, but I'm wondering if I put the pupating ones and the adult beetles that I found in one of my roach grow bins if they can complete their life cycle and cohabitate. Has anyone done this? I didn't notice any negative effects in my breeder bin, but all that is in there are adults and nymphs under 3 months.

Thoughts?

 

[SouthernCritter]

Interesting they can live together. For the breeding of the beetles it probably wouldn't work easily if at all. When the beetles breed and drop eggs they would more than likely be eaten. When I breed supers I move the beetles to a new tub every 2 weeks saving the old substrate in a another tub with all the babies and eggs.

 

[icelore]

Do the beetles eat their own eggs and larva, or are you guessing that the dubia would eat the eggs? I have 2 groups of cleaner crew beetles in two of my grow bins and they complete their life cycles with no issues.

 

[Taterbug]

It probably not a problem in your bins but the supers might predate the dubia. I left some supers and dubia together in the feeding dish to come home to a dubia with it's head and guts eaten out and and a super inside. Could be coincidence, but I've not had a that happen with roaches eating each other in the feeding dish before.

Where did you get your cleaner crew? Do you like them? How often do you clean out frass and do you loose cleaners?

 

[icelore]

I got my first cleaners in with some crickets I ordered. When my dubia colonies got large enough for me to split them up, I ordered crews from West Coast Roaches. I really like them. I have all my adult breeders in a 50gal bin, and I replace the egg cartons and separate out the babies every 3-4 months. When I clean out, I do loose some of the beetle larva, but the bin is clean at that point and I thin the beetle adults as need be then too. The beetles seem to be happy to eat the dubia food if no dead bodies, frass, or sheds are available. I have a second crew in my XL grow bin as well. I don't keep them in the smaller bins. I really wanted them to work from my tiny nymphs, cause they shed so fast and the skins pile up, but they just didn't get along with only the tiny babies in there.

 

[Taterbug]

Are cleaner crews generally dermestid beetles or something else? I kinda want a dermestid colony, maybe if I play it right...

 

[Soulwind]

Yes, cleaner crew are typically dermestid. I got mine just from the
tag-alongs that were in with my starter order when I setup the colony.

I don't even bother with trying to save them, whatever is left in the frass
once I've sorted (which is typically some tiny nymphs and lots of cleaner crew),
gets tossed into the freezer to die before being thrown out.

There's always been enough that go through the sorting and such that end up
back in the bins with the dubia to re-establish themselves without any intervention
on my part.