Insect Direct Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 Anyone else finding small beetles (about 5mm) or fast little black worms popping up in there cultures? Ive been buying mealworms from biosupplies for a couple of years and about 6 months ago noticed some small beetles (half the size of the common sort) in my cultures so went about separating them to see if they bred true to type or were just runty old mealworms (tenebrio molitor). As it turns out yes they breed true and the worms only get to about 10mm before pupating into beetles, worms also darken before maturing and move much faster than the common sort. Done some googling and turns out theyre "mini mealworms". I have a feeling theyre just a common beetle you find in gardens as im sure ive seen them before but never really thought much of it but I also cant find anything online about people having/breeding them in nz which is abit weird. blah blah blah anyway just curious has anyone else come across these? tia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chilli Posted January 24, 2009 Report Share Posted January 24, 2009 i have notticed small black bettles in my dilivery box that mealworms came in,i just wiped it off tub and thought nothing of it if you bred them i guess the worms will be good for hatchlings or frogs etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted January 25, 2009 Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 I have found these as well,I just put it down to my neglecting the cultures,lack of water etc and a bonsai strain?also years of inbreeding may have a bearing?Sometimes I get a bit slack with the carrot /spud supply in there?Have not really studdied the beetles but seen the smaller pupae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2009 Theyre a different species going on what ive found online, have found more than one scientific name though :roll: I never thought much of them until i bred them, the worms are much faster and once theyre over 5mm they start going black on the top half of the body and only get to a size of 10-12mm, one overseas firm selling them claims theyre really high in protein but that could be just a sales pitch. Theyre really fast so predators (baby bds etc) seem to catch on to them quick smart. Breed well to just a lil more tricky to harvest given there size. Spoke to someone yesterday who said theyve been around for years but had a bad rep (apparintly abit hard to digest) but looks like thats abit of a myth like the one that mealworms can chew out of the dragons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted January 26, 2009 Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 I got some in the culture I got from you a few months ago. They're fast, and the cichlids love them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted January 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 26, 2009 Did you just Ill send you an invoice :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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