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More morios, breeding beetles take 2
- Thread starter Vermis
- Start date
GreenKnight
Member
- Messages
- 46
- Location
- Los Angeles
It took me forever to get things going with these, but now I have more than I could ever feed. The beetles lay so many eggs, I think I have one thousand larvae now.
I used to breed these too, when I first kept inverts. (Hence take 2) I started when the frass from regular mealworms started giving me hayfever reactions. With both species it was convenient to have a range of sizes to feed slings up to adult Ts. And it's just weirdly fun to do, as well. It's a bit more complicated than breeding T. molitor, but that's not an especially high bar to hurdle!
Same thing here, as I think about buying my first slings in years. Similar setup too: a set of 1ltr tubs for the different larva stages/generations, and for the adult breeders, a whopping great wide-open space of 2ltrs.
I bought these in the middle of June. I put them on porridge oats, with bits of dry dog food, fish food, and vegetables for a week. I don't know if that was strictly necessary, but I thought I'd try get a bit more nutrition in them anyway. I isolated some out, as shown, and that's just over the two week mark for the first pupae to pop out. A couple just moulted without pupating, those were replaced.
I better write this down somewhere, see how long it takes them to fully mature.
Same thing here, as I think about buying my first slings in years. Similar setup too: a set of 1ltr tubs for the different larva stages/generations, and for the adult breeders, a whopping great wide-open space of 2ltrs.
I bought these in the middle of June. I put them on porridge oats, with bits of dry dog food, fish food, and vegetables for a week. I don't know if that was strictly necessary, but I thought I'd try get a bit more nutrition in them anyway. I isolated some out, as shown, and that's just over the two week mark for the first pupae to pop out. A couple just moulted without pupating, those were replaced.
I better write this down somewhere, see how long it takes them to fully mature.
Pop.
That was Friday morning. Other pupae were getting pretty dark...
... and more - what was the term? Eclosed? - over the weekend. Two weeks to pupation, then two weeks to full maturation. Neat and tidy. Six adult beetles so far. I let them brown up a bit and popped them in the 2l breeding tub.
1" of dry coir, crumpled cardboard tube, bark, water crystals, fish food. I hope that keeps them going and gives them some egg-laying surfaces. The bottle-top dishes have holes in the sides to let any hatchlings through. Hopefully it'll make it a bit easier to scoop them up into their own tub.
That was Friday morning. Other pupae were getting pretty dark...
... and more - what was the term? Eclosed? - over the weekend. Two weeks to pupation, then two weeks to full maturation. Neat and tidy. Six adult beetles so far. I let them brown up a bit and popped them in the 2l breeding tub.
1" of dry coir, crumpled cardboard tube, bark, water crystals, fish food. I hope that keeps them going and gives them some egg-laying surfaces. The bottle-top dishes have holes in the sides to let any hatchlings through. Hopefully it'll make it a bit easier to scoop them up into their own tub.
GreenKnight
Member
- Messages
- 46
- Location
- Los Angeles
Very nice little set up! Very wise to let them darken up first. I made the mistake of throwing them in when they were dark but not black, and they got munched by the others. Those beetles are not friendly! Mine are still producing...just sold 1.200 Superworms the other day as I have them coming out of my ears. Great work!
Thanks!
Ha! Nice. That many might be a little much for my system of ventilated lunchboxes, let alone my single spider. I've wondered about what to do with any excess - I've no idea about any other local exotics keepers, except someone with a tegu. And wild birds are always hungry, I guess.
Ha! Nice. That many might be a little much for my system of ventilated lunchboxes, let alone my single spider. I've wondered about what to do with any excess - I've no idea about any other local exotics keepers, except someone with a tegu. And wild birds are always hungry, I guess.
Stilgar! Do we have worm sign?
I noticed lots of eggs on the bottom of the tub, but I'm not too sure when these started hatching. I see some are larger than others, so they might've had a head start. A week or so ago?
I'll start laying down bits of apple as 'traps' and transfer as many as possible to their own tub of porridge oats. A bit inefficient but hey ho. I have tiny morio worms hatching out, and both my orange head and red head roaches are shooting out sprogs, so the time is right to make that spiderling order I've been planning...
... except I find myself more eager to buy another roach colony, at the mo. Hmm.
I noticed lots of eggs on the bottom of the tub, but I'm not too sure when these started hatching. I see some are larger than others, so they might've had a head start. A week or so ago?
I'll start laying down bits of apple as 'traps' and transfer as many as possible to their own tub of porridge oats. A bit inefficient but hey ho. I have tiny morio worms hatching out, and both my orange head and red head roaches are shooting out sprogs, so the time is right to make that spiderling order I've been planning...
... except I find myself more eager to buy another roach colony, at the mo. Hmm.
Minor change of plans:
- the pieces of apple aren't enticing too many hatchlings to bite and hold on, to be airlifted out of the danger zone.
- the handful I managed to transfer over are miniscule and lost in the oats. It's tricky to balance putting down enough fruit that they'll find it in the middle of that oaty desert, without it either drying too fast or moulding the substrate.
- the coir in the breeding tub is still heaving and the worms in there are noticeably growing, so it might be moot anyway. Seems the adults aren't quite as cannibalistic as imagined, tho I'm still giving them plenty of wet food and protein to keep them satisfied, before I decide to transfer them.
- the pieces of apple aren't enticing too many hatchlings to bite and hold on, to be airlifted out of the danger zone.
- the handful I managed to transfer over are miniscule and lost in the oats. It's tricky to balance putting down enough fruit that they'll find it in the middle of that oaty desert, without it either drying too fast or moulding the substrate.
- the coir in the breeding tub is still heaving and the worms in there are noticeably growing, so it might be moot anyway. Seems the adults aren't quite as cannibalistic as imagined, tho I'm still giving them plenty of wet food and protein to keep them satisfied, before I decide to transfer them.
- Messages
- 99
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
Just a quick suggestion I've noticed that my superworms take really well to potato slices a lot more than apple don't know if you tried that for the minis but they devower them for me and find I have to pull them out when it's time to change the old potato out for new ones
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- 4,163
Try carrot
- Messages
- 4,163
Looks like a beetle bento box
Hello all. After a few manic months at work, when my invert collection was put on maintenance mode, I finally had a minute to think about this morio colony. I figured that was my problem: too much thinking. The larvae left in the coir substrate with the adults suffered no problems as far as I can see, and needed no careful monitoring. I chucked the adults in another tub with fresh coir and a bit of food, and the next day I spotted a bunch of eggs around the sides and bottom. It looks like they don't even need bark or egg cartons to lay in, like a couple of older books led me to believe.
The most complicated thing in the whole process was keeping an eye on the isolated pupae. Otherwise it's as simple as tipping food in and watching them blow up. I'm always surprised by how voracious they are too. They make my roach colonies look like picky eaters.
So now that I have a minute, and a bunch of happily multiplying tubs of livefood, maybe time to write up a sling shopping list for January.
The most complicated thing in the whole process was keeping an eye on the isolated pupae. Otherwise it's as simple as tipping food in and watching them blow up. I'm always surprised by how voracious they are too. They make my roach colonies look like picky eaters.
So now that I have a minute, and a bunch of happily multiplying tubs of livefood, maybe time to write up a sling shopping list for January.
