How to Care For Superworms in The Florida Heat
For some reptile owners, keeping a colony of feeder insects is essential. It’s the most reliable way to always have enough food on hand for your pet. And as a bonus, you won’t spend nearly as much as you would buying feeders at the pet shop. Superworms are a very popular feeder to keep in an at-home colony because of how easy to raise they are. But if you live in Florida, you need to take a few extra things into account. Florida’s heat and humidity can be deadly to larval insects.
So how should you set up a superworm colony if you live in Florida? In this article, we’ll lay out everything you need to know.
Why Superworms?
The superworm, Zophobas atratus, is actually the larvae of a darkling beetle native to Central and South America. Darkling beetles (family Tenebionidae) make up over 20,000 species in total, including the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor). But a lot of pet owners prefer the superworm for its nutritional value and low fiber. Here are the full nutritional facts for superworms:
Superworm Nutrition Facts
Protein: 19.7%
Fat: 17.7%
Moisture: 57.9%
Ash: 1%
Fiber: 2.7%
Calcium to phosphorus ratio: 1:13
They have great fat and protein content, and significantly lower fiber than mealworms or crickets. Their calcium content isn’t great, but you can always just dust them to round that out.
Superworms also grow very large. Before they pupate into beetles, they can reach 2.5” long, which is big enough for even the biggest bearded dragons. They’re not the most active, but for older reptiles that are large in size and don’t like to hunt as much, that’s perfect.
Setting Up a Superworm Habitat
Superworms are also very low maintenance and easy to breed. We have a full guide on how to do this, but these are the major points.
To breed superworms, you need a plastic storage container for the larvae, a substrate that the larvae will feed on, and a separate storage container for the adults. The adults live on egg flats and will give you eggs to start the cycle over again. It’s important to separate the adult beetles from the larvae, as they will cannibalize if you let them.
The container for your larvae should be about 6” deep, with a wide bottom. A five gallon container can hold about 100 larvae. Line the bottom of this tub with substrate, which is what your larvae will eat. The substrate should be about 2” thick. You can use ground up oats, cheerios, or wheat middling for substrate. You can boost your superworms’ nutritional value by adding fruits or vegetables (apples or carrots) occasionally.
As your larvae pupate and emerge as beetles, you will want to transfer them to the adult container. This bin should be taller, with a few egg flats for hiding places. Darkling beetles eat the same things as the larvae. When the beetles lay eggs on the egg flats, you can tear off the section with the eggs and move it into a deli cup to hatch. Then, move the superworms to the larval habitat.
Conditions For a Superworm Habitat
The superworm’s natural habitat is a tropical jungle. But in order to promote breeding and keep diseases away, you need to maintain conditions between 70 and 80°F. Humidity should never exceed 50% in your superworms’ habitat. Even lower is better if you can manage it. This is important - moisture can lead to mold and disease, which can kill off your colony.
Normally, people have problems making sure that their feeder insects stay warm enough in the winter. For most of the continental US, an insect colony would stay around 50% humidity indoors at room temperature.
So under normal circumstances, you could just cut some air holes in the lids of your habitats and line them with mesh to maintain airflow and keep the humidity down.
Adjusting for Florida’s Climate
But this isn’t the case in Florida. Your ability to maintain the ideal conditions inside the habitat depends on the temperature and humidity in your house. You might have to make a few minor adjustments, or you might need to set up a special space to keep your superworms going strong.
Passive Climate Control
For starters, you should get a small thermometer and hygrometer to keep in your storage bins. You’re going to need to monitor the ambient conditions to make adjustments. If the conditions are just slightly above ideal, consider replacing the lid of your storage bin with a mesh frame. This will maximize airflow and let heat escape.
Another passive you could try is keeping your larval habitat inside a styrofoam cooler. Heat will rise out of the mesh top and the insulation in the cooler will make the bottom of the container slightly cooler than the rest of the room.
Cleaning
Superworms get their bodily moisture through food, but be careful about how you give them hydrating foods like fruit. You might set up a barrier like a piece of cardboard to set wet food on, so that the moisture from your fruit isn’t soaking into your substrate, where it could cause mold.
You also need to be diligent about cleaning. You should change out the substrate every few days and stir it up often so that damp patches don’t form.
Active Climate Control
Airflow is crucial to keeping the humidity down. It might be wise to have a fan running in the room where you keep your superworms. If you need to adjust the humidity a lot, add a dehumidifier. You can find small models that will work well.
If you can’t separate your superworms from the rest of your living space, you might even consider building a framed-in area covered in tarpaulin or another moisture-resistant fabric. Your dehumidifier would keep the area inside drier than the rest of the house, ensuring your superworms don’t too damp.