A Detailed Guide to the Breeding Methods and Technical Key Points for Superworms

The superworm (Zophobas morio) was introduced from Southeast Asian countries in recent years. The fully grown larva has a maximum body length of about 7 cm, is 3-4 times larger than the common mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), produces 5 times the yield of mealworms, and its nutritional value far exceeds that of juvenile crickets and mealworms. So how do superworms breed?

I. How Superworms Breed

Superworms generally begin mating and laying eggs about ten days after eclosion. Each female lays at least 300 eggs. After each egg collection, fresh green feed and concentrated feed should be added to the adults in appropriate amounts, and dead adults should be promptly removed from the waste material.

II. Introduction to Each Stage of the Superworm

1. Egg

The egg of the superworm is oblong and milky white, about 1.5-2 mm long and 0.6 mm wide. The outer surface of the egg is the egg shell, which is thin and soft and extremely easily damaged. The outside is covered with a mucus that can adhere to a layer of frass and feed, serving a protective function. The egg stage lasts 7-10 days.

2. Larva

The superworm has a large body. The larva is generally 40-60 mm long and about 5—6 mm wide, with a single worm weighing 1.3-1.5 g, and is cylindrical in shape. Its body wall is relatively hard, yellowish brown, glossy, with 13 segments; at the junctions of the segments there are yellowish brown rings, and the ventral surface is yellow. During larval growth, the body surface color is first white. After the first molt it turns yellowish brown, and thereafter it molts once every 4-6 days; the larval stage molts a total of 6-10 times. The growth period is 60 days. The larva molts starting from the head; before molting its activity begins to decrease, and newly molted larvae are milky white and very fragile. They are the most vulnerable to attack.

3. Pupa

Superworms have a stronger habit of injuring and feeding on one another than mealworms. Larvae that are pupating, like larvae that are molting, are often injured by their own kind, and larvae sometimes also bite and injure pupae, causing superworms to abandon pupation and survive long-term in the larval state without being able to molt into pupae and lay eggs.

4. Adult

The adult stage of the superworm is its reproductive period. When an adult has just molted and emerged, its shell is milky white with an orange head and a very thin carapace; after 1-2 days the back turns dark brown and the abdomen yellowish brown, oval-shaped, about 25-30 mm long and about 8 mm wide. The body is divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen, with 3 pairs of legs.

The superworm is a holometabolous insect, and in its lifetime it goes through 4 stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The entire life cycle is 6 months, or longer.