Farming Superworms

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Starting out farming superworms, Zophobas morio, will seem very familiar to farming mealworms but their are some differences that should be noted before you start so lets get into the similarities and differences between the two. First the similarities are that they both have the same phases of their life cycle and go from eggs to larva, pupae and then beetles. The difference is the time frame, how long they live and the size. Super worms can live much longer then mealworms and if they are kept together in a bin they can stay in the larva phase for up to a year. That is a big difference from mealworms that will morph no matter how many you keep together just after a few months even in cooler temperatures. The beetles of Zophobas morio also get much larger and can live much longer then darkling beetles at an average of anywhere from 3 to 15 years.

You can use the same trays or bins to house them in as mealworms along with the same bedding, like wheat bran, and same types of water sources like carrots which makes starting up a superworm colony easy when you already have mealworms. The biggest difference in the phase change between the two is the superworm needs to be separated from the other worms with all food and water sources removed for it to pupate. I use small plastic containers to separate them off, put them in a small box and in the top of a closet somewhere to force them to pupate. With mealworms you will get new pupae in the bin with worms everyday but with supers is it pretty rare to see pupae in the bin with worms. Once they pupae they will turn to beetles and then back into a new bin to breed and be rotated just like darkling beetles with the biggest difference being how many rotations you can get out of them because they live for so much longer.

One thing I will say is superworms are not for everyone. Not every type of animal that eats mealworms should be fed superworms because they are not only much larger but also more aggressive. Usually I only recommend supers to people that have aggressive eaters like bearderd dragons or other similar reptiles, fish or other aggressive eaters like chickens etc. The reason why is they can and will bite so if a lizard takes his meal head first it isn’t a problem but if you get a sluggish eater that grabs at the tail it gives the superworm a chance to reach back and bite at the animal. At the length of them that usually ends up being in the soft tissue of the face or right around the eyes which can damage an animal. Lets just say I sort my mealworms with my hands all the time but I don’t sort my superworms with my bare hands. Hope this helped anyone that had any questions on how to get into superworms or if it is even for them.