Feeder Breeding Projects Failing - Please help

Ilike4hornedchams

Established Member
Ok so Breeding Dubia is super easy,
but so should breeding super worms but I have YET to get my Super worm beetles to actually lay eggs that hatch and grow. I think I want to try putting my adult beetles on soil rather than oats because this usually leads to Mite infestations (I have ongoing battles with mites now, though freezing them helps knock down their populations down to like .1% and it takes like 3 months for them to become an infestation again.
This have become east to fix now because I have started keeping all my superworms in dry cactus soils with some oats but now a oat bed basically. Anyway I have yet to see my beetles breeding or laying eggs, maybe they are and just eating all of them? Seems weird because I did set up a two bin with metal mesh screen for the hatching to dig down to stay safe in the bottom bin. but they are just not laying if seems.. I am starting to be suspicious that the breeders are sterilizing these feeders somehow.. (That sounds like if would hurt my cham's too so hopefully not) Anyway your thoughts/tips please?

Currently on round two of breeding Horn Worms.
Round 1 failed because only 4 ended up trying to pupate, and 2 died trying to pupate, one never hatched as far as I know and the one that did I fed off.
This time I have maybe 8 or 10 trying to pupate so I am crossing my fingers, though instead of digging them up I am letting them stay in the soil in a catch with a tomato plant, any tips? I hope they breed and lay eggs. Once I bred silk worms and eggs were laid but I don't think the eggs were fertile as they never hatched :( (I live in an area with a humidity around 50-80% normally (Ocean town). Maybe they don't like that? Maybe they like it more dry or even wetter soil maybe? I mean I see people just digging them up and tossing them in shoe boxes. Why isn't this easier lol? Tips please? It could work out this time for all I know actually so I'll just keep crossing my fingers.

Lastly, and most upsetting to me currently, my Soldier Black Flies (SBF's or adult calciworms) are now mating and laying eggs! Wtf!?
I have researched them a lot (As I did others) and I have at least 25 - 30 adult flies in their own enclosure and they are just NOT breeding/pairing and I see no females laying eggs. Super lame.. Any times? I have the fluted cardboard there for them and everything (A mini compose bin as well, where they hatched from). lemmi know if you have experience breeding these. i have a lot of fun long term goals if I can just breed three different insects successfully so please help. I hope to someday be able to sell my calciworms at a good low price to help keep healthy feeders affordable (I think calciworms above all are currently overpriced a little nationwide) Anyway, help me, help you. Please. Thanks for reading!
 
Are you feeding your superworm beetles fruit or veggies? How long have you had the superworm beetles?

Where are you keeping the BSF? they will not mate etc, in any good manner inside a house without the correct set up. If they are outside they also need the correct set up...
 
it shouldnt be that hard to breed superworms. i dont know if they are anything similiar to a mealworm. but one time i ACCIDENTALLY bred mealworms. the eggs hatched and there were tons of tiny mealworms. i never got to feed them off though they just all passed
 
They are more complicated than mealworms, require more specific things. They are highly cannibalistic, require lots of moisture to as not eat the babies or each other. The larvae need to seperated in order for them to pupate. The best way to save the eggs/larvae if you don't have an automatically sifting enclosure for them, is to move the beetle to a new enclosure so the eggs/larvae can safely grow.
 
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