How long before mealworms turn into beetles?

Mealworm is a common live food used in feeding pet birds and reptiles. They are quite available from many places. However they have a limited usefulness before they turn into their adult form - mealworm beetle.

For those people who have used mealworm quite often, how long before your mealworms turn into beetles?
What can you do to slow their growth without reduce their nutritious value?
What are some warning signs that the worms will start to turn?
What do you do with the mealworm beetles?

By the way in your opinion, are canned mealworms as good as live mealworms? They claim to be better than freeze dried which I know it's not as good as live worms.

(09-04-2012, 12:06 AM)Ram Wrote: Mealworm is a common live food used in feeding pet birds and reptiles. They are quite available from many places. However they have a limited usefulness before they turn into their adult form - mealworm beetle.

For those people who have used mealworm quite often, how long before your mealworms turn into beetles?
What can you do to slow their growth without reduce their nutritious value?
What are some warning signs that the worms will start to turn?
What do you do with the mealworm beetles?

By the way in your opinion, are canned mealworms as good as live mealworms? They claim to be better than freeze dried which I know it's not as good as live worms.

i actually have a mealworm colony going at the moment, i started with adult worms, but it takes a few weeks until they even reach a large enough size to turn into beetles. i havent noticed any warning signs though, one day theyre worms, the next their pupae...then in a couple days, you got a beetle! the beetles can then be fed off, or kept in the colony to keep the life cycle going unlike crickets, the beetles will not eat their young..i feed mine oatmeal and carrots :3

the mealworms can be kept in the fridge to slow their growth..they last a long time in there lol. not sure about the canned worms though, ive always used live.

(09-05-2012, 04:54 AM)amanda509 Wrote: unlike crickets, the beetles will not eat their young..i feed mine oatmeal and carrots :3

A couple months ago I bought some mealworms to feed a bird. The very next day I saw a beetle in the worm colony, and it was chewing on a mealworm. I did not know it was a mealworm beetle right away and I thought it was some kind of insect somehow got into the colony and it was eating my worms. It was confirmed as a mealworm beetle after I looked up on the internet and found a photo of it.

Although it can be an isolated case, that one beetle did chew on its own species.

Usually we have so many worms in a single colony, it is hard to notice a pupae or two until we see the beetle.

(09-05-2012, 05:35 AM)Thor Wrote: A couple months ago I bought some mealworms to feed a bird. The very next day I saw a beetle in the worm colony, and it was chewing on a mealworm. I did not know it was a mealworm beetle right away and I thought it was some kind of insect somehow got into the colony and it was eating my worms. It was confirmed as a mealworm beetle after I looked up on the internet and found a photo of it.

Although it can be an isolated case, that one beetle did chew on its own species.

Usually we have so many worms in a single colony, it is hard to notice a pupae or two until we see the beetle.

hahahaha! he must have been hungry i feed mine well, so they have no need to eat eachother :p

(09-05-2012, 04:54 AM)amanda509 Wrote: i actually have a mealworm colony going at the moment, i started with adult worms, but it takes a few weeks until they even reach a large enough size to turn into beetles. i havent noticed any warning signs though, one day theyre worms, the next their pupae...then in a couple days, you got a beetle! the beetles can then be fed off, or kept in the colony to keep the life cycle going unlike crickets, the beetles will not eat their young..i feed mine oatmeal and carrots :3

the mealworms can be kept in the fridge to slow their growth..they last a long time in there lol. not sure about the canned worms though, ive always used live.

Do you mean you feed the mealworm beetles to your pet lizards too?
Do they fly?
How long do they live?

Since you have the cycle going on in your mealworm colony, could you please from now on pay a little more attention on the newly hatched worms to see how long before they become beetles?

Is your colony sustainable with that many mouths (of leopard gecko and others) to feed?

Got a photo of the colony to share?

(09-05-2012, 08:05 AM)Ram Wrote: Do you mean you feed the mealworm beetles to your pet lizards too?
Do they fly?
How long do they live?

Since you have the cycle going on in your mealworm colony, could you please from now on pay a little more attention on the newly hatched worms to see how long before they become beetles?

Is your colony sustainable with that many mouths (of leopard gecko and others) to feed?

Got a photo of the colony to share?

actually, im not quite sure how long the beetles live for or about how long it takes for them to turn into one, but out of curiosity i might set aside two paired beetles and investigate while taking notes! like an experiment!

some lizards will eat them, some wont, it all depends on the lizard. i dont purposely feed them, but some people do. and ive never had one fly, they look like they have wings, but they cant use them. my colony is pretty intense, i havent touched it though to feed my animals yet, ive been using my reserves while letting the colony stabilize.

and i seriously blame you, because i just sat on my floor with my bin and just took like 5 bajillion photos...mealworms are soo interesting :3 lol

my colony:


a tan beetle:


a beetle that is either still molting, or is injured:



a dark beetle:


as you can see, about half my worms are pupating:


here is a worm that has pupated and is trying to get the last of its shed off by wiggling lol:

I didn't know they came in. different colors, I've only ever seen the dark ones. Though I've never tried to bred them, I just feed. I've got a few leopard geckos that really like the pupating worms more than the normal mealworms though.

(09-05-2012, 01:37 PM)Fishbone Wrote: I didn't know they came in. different colors, I've only ever seen the dark ones. Though I've never tried to bred them, I just feed. I've got a few leopard geckos that really like the pupating worms more than the normal mealworms though.

i didnt know they came in different colors either until i started breeding them lol. im sure theres a reason though, maybe two different species? or male and female? freshly molted? who knows..ill have to research it further

The beetles I had were black ones. I was feeding the mealworms with some tree leaves at first, until I heard they are usually given oatmeal. Oatmeal is quite dry, I do not know how the worms can manage without take in water.

Research is always fun. You might as well run a mealworm farm for your future reptile shop.

(09-05-2012, 10:26 PM)Thor Wrote: The beetles I had were black ones. I was feeding the mealworms with some tree leaves at first, until I heard they are usually given oatmeal. Oatmeal is quite dry, I do not know how the worms can manage without take in water.

Research is always fun. You might as well run a mealworm farm for your future reptile shop.

actually, mealworms grow alot slower without some sort of moisture, so thats why i throw carrots and apples in with mine, they usually have a whole apple or handful of carrots gone in about a day...

and thats what i was planning gotta feed those hungry reptiles somehow!

Why are you giving them carrots and apples? Too good for some worms.

I just gave them some banana skin and tree leaves. They also eat fresh cut grass from the lawn. If you are going to run a mealworm farm to mass produce them for your reptile shop and the shop's customers, you probably do not want to feed them human grade fruit and veggie. It shots up the cost. These mealworms go for only $9.99 for each 1,000 worms from online vendors.

(09-06-2012, 07:08 AM)Thor Wrote: Why are you giving them carrots and apples? Too good for some worms.

I just gave them some banana skin and tree leaves. They also eat fresh cut grass from the lawn. If you are going to run a mealworm farm to mass produce them for your reptile shop and the shop's customers, you probably do not want to feed them human grade fruit and veggie. It shots up the cost. These mealworms go for only $9.99 for each 1,000 worms from online vendors.

haha, the more i get, ill change their diet..could just collect my neighbors dandilions..very healthy, thats what i feed my crix..