Mealworm metamorphasis?

[Creamballman]

So a few weeks ago a bought 50 count mealworms, and they were all fine, except for A few that were hard and seemed to not be moving. I assumed they were dead, but it turns out they were cocoons, i think. I am assuming this because when I looked into the tiny container, I found a beetle like thing about the same size as the mealworms. So, do mealworms molt? I'm pretty sure this is the only explanation, as nothing could have gotten in. If this is the case, can I feed this insect to my fire bellies as a safe food?

[Mentat]

Mealworms and other "worms" with pincers in the pet feeder world are the larvae of different beetles. Not sure if your FBs will eat it. Also, beetles have hard exoskeleton parts that could be an impaction problem for some frogs .

[UncleChester]

Pictured below from left to right: mealworm larva (these go through several sizes, molting at each one), mealworm pupa, and the adult beetle form are pictured below.

Most beetles look the same to me, but if you had the pupa in the container then that's probably where your beetles came from. The pupa don't move unless you poke them, then the lower tail part will thrash around.

You could transfer the adult beetles into a breeding container. A plastic shoebox sized rubbermaid container with some air holes filled with a couple of inches of dry bran, oatmeal, or other whizzed up grains along with a potato or carrot slice for moisture every few days will do the trick. Then let them do their business and you'll have baby mealworms in a few months. They're very low maintenance cultures.

[Creamballman]

Yes, that's exactly what I'm seeing. I guess I can have free food for a while now? Also, can meal worms be dusted like crickets or do they suffocate quickly?

[Ajuki]

I powder mine. They seem fine. Will last a day or two if they don't get eaten right away. Just don't cake them to where they can't move.

[Creamballman]

can mealworms burrow into tightly packed eco earth? I was wondering so that I can just leave some without worrying of them disappearing.

[Ajuki]

Yes they can borrow. I use this dish to keep them in. Toadies are fine with it, they sit right inside and eat them.

Pet Supplies - Pet Products - Pet Food | Petco.com

[yoshimi]

Yes they can borrow. I use this dish to keep them in. Toadies are fine with it, they sit right inside and eat them.

Pet Supplies - Pet Products - Pet Food | Petco.com

Those dishes are cheap and so useful. You can check ebay and maybe get it for a bit less. Talking $2 free shipping. Not sure what pet stores are charging. I don't have a FBT, but my girl does the sitting in bowl and snacking too, tho once she notices them, she usually downs the bunch at once. I try not to give her too many at a time. They do take reptivite and caclium supplements fairly well.

My mealworm culture started the exact same way, seeing those shrimplike things and going from there. you might see the new baby mealworms sooner now that temps are warmer. before that, give them a dark place, (i covered 3/4 of bin with paper), and they'll be crawling all over each other like crazy. i was shocked at how many i got from what i didn't consider a lot of beetles. thousands from maybe 30 or 40. careful not to spill their container, my fear was dropping it and having eggs everywhere, then little worms everywhere. never happened, and now i think the eggs when not laid on old food (they do that) might be sort of glued to wherever they laid them (usually on the bottom of bin). I dumped my beetles out in the yard once i had the mealworms I needed and it took forever to wash and scrape off what was left on the bottom, even after being left in the rain, and i think it might have been egg casings.