Breeding Superworms: A guide to raising and breeding superworms
In today’s economy we are all searching for ways to save money. Breeding your own feeders is one of the best ways. For the past several years I’ve been breeding superworms for all my geckos. It’s a fairly simple process and with some time and patience you can raise your own feeders.
Stages of life
Superworms have 4 stages of life: egg, larva, pupae and beetle. The beetles are the only ones that reproduce. Breeding superworms is very similar to that of mealworms but with one difference. They will need to be separated individually so they can pupate. If you keep them together you will never obtain beetles to start another generation. Superworms grow slowly and it can take 5 months or longer (depending on the temperature you keep them at) to become large enough to start the “morphing” process. Pupation is an essential process and the only way to obtain beetles for breeding. I keep all stages of superworms at a temperature between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.
Metamorphosing superworms
Choose the largest superworms possible and place a single worm into an empty 35mm film container. I’ve found film containers work best as they require very little space. Due to the digital era they are becoming harder to find but I’ve always had good luck at the Wal-Mart and Costco photo centers. If you can’t get them you can always use plastic bead boxes for crafts, baby food jars etc.
Leave the superworm in the empty film container with no food or water. Adding food or water to the film container prolongs the time it takes them to pupate and makes a bigger workload for you. As long as they are very large larva you should have very few to no deaths.
After several days the worms will become dormant and begin curling to a letter “c” or “e”. This is the start of the morphing process. Any superworms that are straight looking, hard or black are probably dead. The process from larva to pupae takes 1 to 2 weeks.
Superworm pupa
Once the worm has pupated it will look like a white or cream colored “alien” as most people call them. This is their third stage of life. You can either leave them in the film container or place them all in a separate container. I remove mine and place them in a separate container as it saves space and then you can start another larva in the film container. When their legs turn darker in color you’ll know a beetle is about to emerge. The process from pupae to beetle takes about 2 weeks.
Superworm beatles
Before removing these beetles you need to put together a new breeding container. I use trays that are (14” x 10” x 3.5”). You can use really any type of container such as Rubbermaid and Sterilite but I’ve found cat litter pans to be most effective. Add about 1 inch of wheat bran or a pre-made gutload to the bottom of the container. The beetles will eat and lay their eggs in this. Try not to use coarse bedding such as oats unless you blend it to a powder. This will make it easier to separate the superworms later for cleaning or feeding your animals. In one corner I add a small piece of egg crate so the beetles have a place to gather. Otherwise they may wander through the container digging up eggs and eating them. You may now move the beetles to this container. Offer potatoes, carrots, fruits or water crystals as a water source. Moisture is extremely important for the beetles just as it is for the superworms themselves. A lack of moisture will result in beetles preying on eggs, newly hatched babies and other beetles.
About every 2 to 4 weeks (depending on how many beetles you have in one container) remove the beetles from the bedding and place them in a fresh container as described above. This allows the eggs to hatch and furthers your chances of obtaining more babies. If the beetles are left they will prey on the eggs and possibly the newly hatched larva. The newly hatched worms could do the same with each other. Adult beetles can live up to 5 months with a female laying nearly 500 eggs in her lifetime.
Raising baby superworms
The key to hatching is heat and most importantly moisture. For the babies I keep the temperature around 78 degrees Fahrenheit. Add small chunks or slices of potato, carrot, apples etc on the bedding surface. This will provide moisture for the newly hatched babies. Once the babies grow larger you can use water crystals if you wish.
That’s it, you’ve bred superworms!
Congratulations! You have now successfully completed your first breeding cycle. It will take time before your colony is established but once it is you’ll have a continuous supply of superworms!
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Brittney G April 20th
Fantastic article, thanks Cody!
Sterling w. July 16th
Thxs alot
andrew August 10th
hey im thinking about breeding superworms any 1 got any tips / pointers
Matthew August 16th
The article gives you great advice on getting started. If you have a specific question we may be able to help
.
andrew August 24th
for keeping the superworms can you use cricket water cubes instead of chunks or slices of potato, carrot, apples
ichigo kurosaki August 26th
is the superworm beetle can fly? how high?
Cody August 26th
No, the beetles can’t fly.
angela October 14th
do you put a lid on the top of the film container?
Cody October 15th
I do not put the film container lid on the canister. Sometimes the larger superworms (especially when first added to the container) might be able to climb out. What I do in this situation is place a fine mesh screen over the top of them for a day until they settle down.
Mich November 20th
I have 45 worms all divided up into a craft container, basically same amount of room as a film container would have. I drilled 2 hols above each compartment for air and stuck the containers on a shelf in a closet on Nov 1st .. I still have no aliens .. most are curled into a “c” and have been for weeks now … other people reported alines after 7-10 day, mine has been double that
Cody November 22nd
As long as they are starting to curl I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Here are a few pointers. Make sure they are the largest superworms possible. Some smaller ones may not be as willing to pupate because they are not ready. I would also suggest bumping their temps up near 80.
Sallie December 11th
Can you tell me whatkind of bedding I can use besides wheat bran. If you can please tell me several. thanks
Cody December 13th
I find wheat bran or a commercial gutload to be the best bedding but you can also use chicken mash or oats. Keep it as fine as possible as course substrates tend to mold easily or collect grain mites.
mary shaffer December 27th
if i was to keep the superworm in a deep 3 drawer plastic orginizer can they get out.
Cody December 28th
The three drawer system should work fine. As long as it’s at least 3.5” high they should not be able to get out.
mary shaffer December 29th
what about after they turn into beetles can they fly out and can they bite if so is it hard enough to say owe or draw blood i got a rear blood type and they might like it
Cody December 29th
No, the beetles will not be able to get out and they do not fly. Anything with a mouth can bite. I have never been bitten by a superworm beetle before so I don’t know how bad it would hurt.
mary shaffer January 2nd
i’ve done research on meal worm and found out that they do eat dead leaves,plants,animals,in the wild i trying old leaves for the meal worms to eat because they do eat dead things they seem to love it now i cant find out where to go to find out if super worms can eat the same thing as far as dead leaves so i can save myself alot of money theres dead leaves everywhere free do you know if i can use dead leaves for superworm to.
Cody January 4th
I have never heard of leaves being used for either mealworms or superworms. I would be careful doing so because I’m not sure what the leaves would do to the mealworms/superworms or your animals.
mary shaffer January 5th
ive done alot of research on them in their natural enviroment they eat everything including dead animals and insects search through google under what do cricket,mealworm,superworm eat they are also known as natural composters because of them breaking up decaying matter and feces and be used as compost its like when i studted on compost anything that came from the earth can be put back into the earth anything that crickets,mealworms,superworms,earthworm eat can be used as compost what i do is put the old fruits and vegies leaves and plants into my compost bin for the redworms to finish off
Jamie January 8th
how much movement should recently hatched beetles do,or do they lay around for awhile?
Cody January 10th
Once the beetles emerge they can be a little sluggish. After a few hours their exoskeletons harden to a darker brown and they become more active.
Jamie January 10th
Thanks Cody..I love this website!
Jamie January 10th
Can you tell the gender of the beetles(I assume they need males)?
Cody January 11th
Yes, there are males and females but there is no way to tell them apart. As long as you have a good number of them together you’ll be fine.
charlie January 12th
im currantly breeding superworm ive bred them before this is the first time ive encounterd grain mites how do i get rid of them any help would be appreciated thanks
Shannon January 16th
My superworms turned into beetles a little over a week ago and have turned totally black but they dont move? They are alive and I keep plenty of food and moisture in their housing and are kept at temps ranging from 60’s to 70″ is there something I am doing wrong or is this common or should they be really active? Thanks so much
Cody January 17th
I have never encountered grain mites so I don’t have first hand experience. Unfortunately chemicals can’t be used because it would not only kill the mites but also the superworms. Remove all the superworms and give them new bedding. Only give them about .5 to 1” of bedding and change it weekly or as needed. I would also try to keep the bedding as dry as possible.
Try bumping up your temperatures to around 75 and try to maintain that. When temps are too cool they can become somewhat dormant.
Aliza January 18th
I have dealt with grain mites in my mealworms and crickets. As Cody said, the best thing to do is to change the bedding. You can also try wiping off the superworms. Before replacing the bedding, wash the enclosure and cover in hot water to kill any mites on the surface. Check the cover and sides of the enclosure in a few days with a magnifying glass to see if there are any more and keep checking until it’s consistently clear. If you see mites, you’ll have to change the bedding and wash down the enclosure again. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to save a mealworm colony unless you can pick out each mealworm. At least the superworms are big enough to “rescue”.
Dawn January 21st
While breeding your superworms,do u put food in their with each one?
Dawn January 21st
What do the beetles turn into if anything?If they dont turn into anything what do u do with them?
Cody January 23rd
The bedding you keep them on is their food source. The beetles are the adult form of the superworm. Their only purpose is to reproduce and create more superworm larva.
Brad January 23rd
I have been working on breeding superworms for 4 months now.
I keep about a hundred beetles in a dishpan size container with a bran / egg mash bedding. Keep them supplied water crystals and fresh vegies, and move them to a new container every 2 to 3 weeks. sifted out the worm containers from November today… to find a f grand total of about 50 worms. What is going on… there should be thousands of worms.
Any suggestions?
Cody January 25th
It could be a couple things. If this was the first container you started there are usually small numbers. Once you remove the beetles how are you offering the babies moisture? It sounds to me like they are not getting enough moisture therefore the superworms that hatch are preying on smaller larva and eggs. Cannibalism is very common with all stages of superworms when inadequate moisture is not given.
Brad January 25th
I keep fresh carrot or potato in there at all times and I have also added water crystals.
Cody January 25th
It sounds like you are doing things right. What I do is leave the containers alone for a few days after the beetles have been removed. Then I use medium water crystals and thinly spread them on top of the bedding every few days. Keep in mind too much moisture will cause the bedding to mold. I would keep doing what you are doing and when the second container is ready sift it out and see how many you have.
Melissa February 5th
how do I mix a homemade gutload getting ingrediants from walmart? And when would it be suitable to feed breeding superworms?
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