Setup: Start with a ten-gallon aquarium or other sturdy container (like a sweater box). Fill with three to four inches of rolled oats or bran, which serves as both substrate and food. Keep the temperature in the 75-80 degree F range.

Feeding: The mealworms will eat the substrate, but you should also provide a juicy fruit or vegetable (like apples, oranges, or potatoes) once or twice a week for water. Do not provide a dish of water, because the worms will just drown in it. You can also sprinkle a vitamin powder (made for Tegus) on the water source if you choose. Replace the fruit or vegetable slice before it begins to spoil.

Reproduction: Mealworms themselves are the larvae. About three months following this stage, they form white pupae. Then, from the pupae come black beetles (common name: Darkling beetles) after a two-week period. Adult darkling beetles will eventually breed and lay between 500 and 1000 eggs to start the cycle again. Eggs hatch in less than two weeks.

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Published on: 2004-11-20 (1284 reads)