Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i used to breed meal worms for my geckos but never really paid attention to the babies untill they turned brown..well i have more lizards now so i ordered more and more meal worms... when the mealies turned to pupa or beetles i would dump them into a critter keeper cage hoping to start up a colony...well now i have tons of mealies and the litter seems to be alive..literally... there are all kinds of baby white ??? they look like baby spiders except milky white...are these young meal worms or some kind of pest that invaded? their round not worm like at least from what i can see... it creeped me out and made me itch...what do you think?

May be either Indian meal moth larva or grain beetle larva.

how would i know for sure and is it cause for concern?

My colonies of mealworms & Zophobas(King mealworm) have been plagued my Indian meal moths. The larva are a pain because they will climb walls in order to pupate into the moth. The moths are a pain because they flutter around the house; however, they are great feeder insects for small reptiles & amphibians.

The grain beetles (which are usually flour beetles) will infest the bran/grain & basically stay within the bin; however, they compete with the mealworms. Also, grain weevils are similar to grain beetles & have similar looking larva.

In both cases, you will need to get rid of the substrate & start over with new & sterile substrate. I freeze my bran/grain for a month to eliminate pests. Baking may work, but will have an effect on the nutrient value of the substrate.

Here are some links for more info(or search the net):

http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/mindianm.html
http://www.bugclinic.com/IndianMealMoth.htm
Link

thanks for the info.... so when i start fresh with the litter should i try to hand pick the mealies out of the old litter or is there a better way? please tell me theres a better way lol

There is no better way that I'm aware of; except, you can try sifting with strainers of different mesh sizes. I just renovated my mealworm colony a few weeks ago. The more larva, pupa & adults that you retrieve, the sooner you'll have a full-fledged colony in production.

The key is to prevent pest insects & I've had on-going battles with Indian meal moths. If you can get some super-fine mesh screening, it may prevent re-infestation. Some entomology supply companies sell it.

Goodluck

so basically salvage what I can and start fresh on the bedding...and cover it all with a mesh screen? I know about reptiles and some bugs but pest really get the best of me lol.. I also heard plastic wrap works too what do you think? If i sort some of the mealworms out of the litter would they be safe to use as feeders? The thing that sucks about the whole situation is theres tons of young mealies which are tiny plus little egg/tunnel structures they built which I have a feeling are holding more mealies/eggs in... thats where I originally found the critters in question, thats why i was so confused. Thanks for your time!

Don't use Saran or other plastic wraps; it will hold in too much moisture (from when you feed-carrots, apples, etc.)--this would encourage a grain mite outbreak.

If you use mesh screening, it should be extremely small--entomology grade material. Try www.bioquip.com

Mealworm (Tenebrio sp.) beetles lay fairly microscopic size eggs--if they are in "tunnel" structures, then they are most likely larva of Indian meal moths or other larval pest types previously described. Some of the baby mealies could have migrated into the same structure due to moisture retention.

If they are alive, pesticide free, they should be fine as feeders. Again, most of the insect pests that invade colonies make good feeders, too.

*Forgot to add-- Too many vegs & lack of air circulation, not only encourage a grain mite population explosion, but also encourages molds & bacteria that are detrimental to the colony.

Mealworms are more resilient to moisture loss than Zophobas, but a few carrot, apple or other root veg. chunks generally are enough. Replace as these pieces are completely consumed or dried-out. Also, replace if any mold/bacteria appear on the pieces. Carrots tend to not mold so easily (which is what I use most of the time).

There are a number of excellent mealworm propagation sites on the net.