Adventures in Superworm breeding

[northface75]

Well I've decided to try and breed superworms. Sounds easy enough from what I've read. Had to go to about 4 different photo labs to get 35mm film canisters (evidently a lot of places are digital only now), but was able to get a hold of 12 black film canisters, which currently are housing 12 superworms with a bit of oats in each and holes punched in the top. I'll post pics as soon as I have a comp that I can, my lappy is currently out of commission unfortunately. But once I get it going, pictures will follow.

 

[northface75]

as I posted this I realized beardie love basically already had the exact thread started lol :
oh well. we can compare our progress together! lol. I think I need more than 12 to start though... evidently 50 is a solid number to start with.

 

[Vesta]

I just went to Walmart and bought one of those plastic jewelry cases with all the compartments. I recycled the saw dust my wax worms came in and stuck a little in each compartment. I put a super in each one and stuck it in a dark drawer and waited. I started with 50. They fed my Beardies for an entire year but it seemed like it took forever for them to get to feeding size. I ordered 1000 just recently from Petco. Got nice healthy supers and I think I paid $32.00 for them!!

The whole thing was a fun experience for me and I'll be doing it again soon!!!

 

[staylor]

just wondering why they have to be separated? I grew beetles by accident and they were all in their little cup you buy them in.

 

[Vesta]

Mealies don't have to be separated but Superworms do or they will not turn into aliens and then beetles and then make little teeny tiny superworms!!!

 

[staylor]

Thank you....learned something new.

 

[Vesta]

You're welcome!!!

 

[northface75]

yea thats why they are packaged in big groups, the feeling of them rubbing up against each other prevents them from going into pupate stage. Yea I got one of those bead things from walmart as well, stores like...32 or something. so that with my initial 12 in film canisters will get me started. theyre in the closet right now.

 

[northface75]

well I started this thread on the 9th and its now the 24th and most of the supers are in the "alien" stage. funny looking little things. kinda funny how they wiggle around when you poke them . so yeap, took around 2 weeks for them to get to that stage. another week or two until beetle stage?

 

[Craiger]

Yep, another week or two and you'll have some beetles. Not all will mature at the same rate/time. So, it'll likely be a week-long event (possibly more).

I've got a couple boxes of supers right now. Some are the babies of my last beetle colony. The other is a new colony....and it is literally LOADED with babies.