Breeding Mealworms beetle problems? PICTURES INCL.?

Question

Okay I am putting this in reptiles because, leopard gecko/bearded dragon owners who breed their own food would be perfect to answer this!! :D

I have 3 beetles that have come from the meal worm thing... and they've been in their own separate dish with bran/oatmeal and fresh carrots and the occasional potato thrown in.

I haven't seen any meal worm babies or anything and they have been in there for several weeks now. What is the likely hood that I've gotten all 3 males?

http://isis.deviantart.com/art/Mealworm-Beetle-Dude-95929433

Now one of them is slightly more brown in colour, not sure if that means anything.

So any help I can as far as why they haven't bred or I've got 3 males, what do the females look like in that case?

Any nutrition tips I'll will gladly accept :D

Answer 1

Are you trying to raise superworms, Zophobus morio or the common mealworm, Tenebrio molitor.? The picture looks like an adult superworm. If that's the case, move the adults (very unlikely that you have 3 males or 3 females) into a 2.5 or 5 gal. tank with a layer of damp rotten wood/flakes in the bottom. Feed slices of apple for moisture. The adults can take several weeks to gear up for breeding. If you want to get more beetles, separate the superworm larva into individual containers/cups with ventilation holes to pupate in. They will not pupate when kept in crowded conditions. Obviously, the more adults you have to start your culture the better. Once the larvae hatch, remove the adults. Continue feeding slices of apple, sweet potato, kale, etc. For adults and larvae change food 2-3x/week. (We keep our adults and larvae on oatmeal)

Common mealworms are much easier to rear. Our cultures are kept on cornmeal and fed apples and sweet potatoes. Leave a couple of the swt. potato pieces in the cage for a few weeks, they'll start to look dry and funky, and the beetles will lay in them. The eggs will hatch and you'll have gobs of hatchling mealies.

As for the color of the adults. Sounds like they have just emerged into adults and their exoskeletons are hardening up, causing the dark color. When they first emerge they are white and soft, this is called "teneral".